You Can't Fix Me
by Lacrimosa Cruentus Luna
Summary: She left for over a year and now she's back...with a surprise. "You can't fix me! Just leave me alone before we hurt each other again!" Shima FINALLY COMPLETE!
1. Out Of Reach

**Author's note: **Not only have I not written any Vampire Knight fics in, like, forever, this is my first time doing an AU fic so I don't know how exactly it's going to turn out. And just because I like to challenge myself, I'm doing it from different peoples' POVs for the first time. I don't own Vampire Knight and…well that's it…

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**SHIKI POV:**

Not a day went by when I didn't think about _her. _

_Rima, why did you leave me without saying anything? We were so close. Did I do something to you? No. If I had you would've told me…right?_

I heard my name being called but I blocked it out. Nothing was as important as thinking about the past that was constantly hurting me.

"Shiki!" Ichijou shook me until I couldn't help but give him my utmost attention. But that didn't mean I had to do it _kindly._

"What. Do. You. _Want_?" I snapped. I knew that since Rima had left a year ago I had been a complete asshole to everyone around me. I also knew I didn't give a crap.

"Jeez, you're so cranky," Ichijou mumbled. I snorted diversely. _Did he now just notice this?_

"Well, thanks so much for stating the obvious," I growled in return.

"I was going to tell you some news about…_her_, but if you don't care then I guess I'll just—" he began, but in less than half a second I had him by the throat, pinned up against the wall.

"What about her?" I demanded. Ichijou slowly removed my hand from his throat.

"I thought I should probably tell you that she's here," he said. "But you might want to know—"

I heard nothing of his warning. I could think of only one thing:

_Rima's back! Rima's back! Rima's home! Rima can finally explain why she left!_

Excitement like I'd never felt since she'd been gone filled me as i took off through the halls of the school. Adrenaline coursed through my veins like fire, raging inside of me. Then I saw her for the first time in over a year and my heart nearly stopped.

Her cerulean eyes didn't hold the same light I remembered and her skin was paler than it was in my memories. Rima looked so sick. The only thing that hadn't changed was the pigtails she wore her hair in.

"Rima?"

My voice came out in a choked whisper, but she heard me. Rima whipped around and looked me dead in the eye. She said nothing to me, only turned and walked away. I ran up to her and grabbed her arm. Rima's whole body flinched as if I struck her.

"Leave me alone. I don't want to talk to you anymore. Just go away…Shiki," she said without any emotion and walked away.

All warmth left me. _What happened to you, Rima? Why won't you tell me?_

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**RIMA POV:**

_Oh, Senri, I'm sorry. You don't know how bad it kills me to do this to you! _I screamed silently as I walked away. Tears filled my eyes as I walked away from the boy who had been my best friend since we were kids. _I love you. That's why you can't ever know what happened._

I wondered what he would think of me if he knew what happened. He would hate me for sure. He would never talk to me again. I tugged nervously at my skirt and wrapped my arms around me, as if to stop myself from falling apart. I opened my bag and pulled out a piece of binder paper and a pencil and began to write.

_Dear Shiki,_

_You could never know how painful it is for me to do this to you._

_I would give ANYTHING not to._

_But I love you and what happened to me would only rip us apart again and I just…don't want that._

_So we really are better off this way. _

_Love, _

_Rima_

I gave the paper a glance and ripped it up to shreds. It was shit. I pulled out a new paper and began to write again.

_Shiki,_

_I'm sorry. Really I am. I know what I'm doing is hurting you, and I know I probably should have never come back. But I didn't have a choice._

_America sucks._

_If it makes you feel any better, hurting you hurts me ten times more so you aren't the only one in pain._

_How long has it been? How much have I missed? Not that it matters._

_Anyway, I don't think you'll like to know what happened, but you deserve to know since it might be_

I stopped writing at that. It was horrible.

This time I was too lazy to rip the paper up, so I crumpled it up and threw it over the railing, not thinking about it, not wondering who would find it or what it would lead to.

I just counted the minutes till the day ended.

_RING!!_

Ah, the magic sound. Before anyone could catch up with me, I left the campus hurriedly and made my way home.

When I reached the small house, I fumbled with my keys until I found the right one. I opened the door and took a step in when I heard my mother yelling.

"Rima! Mikazuki keeps crying for you!" her mother sighed as she walked towards her daughter. As soon as the young baby girl saw Rima her face lit up and she clapped her small hands together.

"Hey there, Mikazuki," I said, taking the small child in my arms and cradling her. "How's my baby girl doing?"

The small baby smiled again as her cerulean eyes poured into mine, as if to say _Mommy's home!_

"It's funny how she looks just like you," my mother said softly.

"Thankfully," I said with a sigh. "If I had to stare into the face of her father every time I looked at her…"

I shook my head and kissed Mikazuki on the forehead. _My precious baby girl_.

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SURPRISE!! Rima has a kid! But if you think that's the whole reason she left YOU'RE WRONG!! MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!! And only I know the truth! But if you review…you'll find out quicker! So remember to **REVIEW!! **


	2. A Beautiful Lie

**Author's note: **Every single review I got involved how shocked people were that Rima had a kid. Originally that wasn't going to happen for a couple of chapters but now I'm glad I put it in. And so many people told me to update I felt that I had to so here it is my lovely reviewers! As a warning some characters are going to be very OCC and Shiki's mother is going to be the epitome of evil bitch. Finally, I don't own Vampire Knight.

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**RIMA POV:**

I slowly made my way to school, wishing each step could take so much longer. But because life seemed to despise me so much, I got to school in no time. Then I saw _him _and every beat my heart took hurt.

I tried to leave before he could see me, but it seemed like he could feel me—not surprising since we had been so close at one point.

Shiki—I couldn't call him Senri or I'd be reminding myself of the past—walked up to be before I could run. He'd always been so much faster than me anyway.

"Don't ignore me, Rima," he said. "Why'd you leave me?"

"I had to leave," I said coldly.

"Just tell me why you left," Shiki all but begged me.

"Go. Away," I said softly. _Don't make me do this! _I silently screamed. I had one tactic left, but I didn't want to use it.

"I'll leave you alone if you tell me."

"No!"

"Let me help you! Let me fix—"

"You can't fix me! Just leave me alone before we hurt each other again!" I snapped. "I hate you!"

I almost regretted the last three words as soon as I said them, but comforted myself by mentally pointing out that it was better off if I only had to hurt him again once. Like ripping off a band aid; when you take it slow, the pulling of the skin hurts more which is why it needs to be done fast.

But his face when he heard me would haunt me for the rest of my life. Pain rippled across it and I almost told him. Instead I walked away before he could see the tears that filled my eyes.

It worked. That's all that mattered.

"Besides," I muttered to myself. "It's all your fault after all."

_Not directly, _my sensible (but at the moment evil) voice pointed out. _You know that he doesn't understand or remember much less._

"His mother told me to never tell him about…his condition," I replied to myself. How pathetic. I couldn't believe I had actually sunk to a level where I was talking to myself.

_His mother is a crazy bitch who couldn't care less!! Besides, if you aren't going to tell him about his "condition" at least tell him why you left!_

"No. I don't want to hurt him even more than my leaving did. Besides, it's too late now," I pointed out.

My inner self gave up and stopped talking.

"And good riddance to you," I grumbled and wiped the tears away from my face at the same moment the bell rang. And for the millionth time, my heart spoke the words I struggled to hide from everyone, myself included:

_I'm sorry, Senri. I love you. _

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**SHIKI POV:**

I all but ran out of the classroom as the final bell rang, deep in my melancholic thoughts.

All through that day I could only think about one thing: _she hates me. _

Yeah, whatever happened was definitely my fault. As if she didn't make that obvious enough. When I looked on it I realized that I should've figured it out before. Honestly, if she wasn't totally pissed at me, wouldn't she have come running to find me at first? Yup. I mentally cursed myself for being such an idiot. As I continued to walk I crashed into someone who was walking the opposite direction as me.

"Ah, crap," I hissed when I saw who it was.

"You messed up my hair," Aido squealed. I sweat dropped. _Of all the people to run into when I'm in a horrible mood, it had to be this mother—_

"Now fix it!" he added. I stared at the blonde piece of shit.

"Fix your own hair you idiot," I snapped. This probably wasn't the best idea since Aido Hanabusa just so happened to be one of the most popular boys in school, but at the moment, I couldn't care less. "Why do you care so much about it anyway?"

"He's trying to impress a girl," Kain, his cousin told me as he approached. Akatsuki Kain was calmer than his cousin and out of all the popular kids, he was the easiest for me to handle. Kuran Kaname, Aido, and Ruka Souen on the other hand…not so much.

"You actually need to try to impress a girl?" I asked incredulously. Aido had a reputation of being a major playboy and had the strange ability to charm almost any girl in the school with the exception of Ruka, Cross Yuuki, (the Chairman of the school's adoptive daughter)…and Rima. There was also some other girl, a friend of Yuuki's who hated him with a passion. She took any chance she could to totally humiliate him. She was very creative, I had to give her that much. Wakaba Sayori I thought her name was, but she didn't matter because at the moment I was absolutely terrified that Rima was the girl he was trying to impress. After all, Ruka was with Kain and Yuuki had a strange attraction to Kiryuu Zero, the school freak and Sayori was just too normal for his usual taste.

"I'll never understand why he has such an infatuation with her," Ruka sniffed as she approached.

"To each his own," Kain said as he wrapped his arm around the girl.

"You aren't trying to get…Wakaba Sayori?" I asked slowly, realization hitting me. He did have a tendency to stare at her.

"I'm afraid he is," Kuran said emotionlessly as he approached his personal bodyguard Seiren, right behind him. To most it would seem that Kuran and Seiren were just friends, but I suspected it was something more, especially since they had seemed to get closer when Ruka got over her long-time infatuation with him and Yuuki completely rejected him for Zero, who was nice enough to me, although I wouldn't exactly call him a friend. I snickered.

"I wish you luck," I told him. "Sayori seems kinda—"

"I seem kind of what?" said girl asked as she walked up to us. I only realized I was sitting on the ground still when she offered me a hand, which I gladly took. This was going to be entertaining. I guess I wasn't going to be the only one having a shitty day. I was starting to feel better already.

"Hello, Yori-chan," Aido said scooting over to the girl.

"Don't call me that," Sayori replied icily. Ouch. I bit back and laugh and tried to keep my face straight. But as hard as I tried, I couldn't suppress a grin.

"Well, uh, anyway, I was thinking that we should go out tomorrow," Aido said and tried to put his arm around his shoulders. The girl I once thought as perfectly normal slapped his hand, which he recoiled like a child. This was so….

"No," she replied simply and turned to walk away.

"What do I have to win you over?" Aido demanded. I watched the Sayori smirk.

"Something you can never do," she told him slyly.

"I'll do anything," he promised.

"Anything?"

"Anything!"

Sayori grinned darkly and all but skipped up to the blonde haired boy. She whispered something in his ear and he turned paler than he already was.

"You can't be serious!" he exclaimed and everyone looked confused.

"You said anything, but I guess since you won't…" Sayori trailed off.

"If I do it, will you go out with me?" Aido asked. My jaw dropped. He didn't just agree to terms that weren't his own?!

"Quite possibly," Sayori replied. "If you do it right."

"I will," Aido vowed.

"I'll look forward to it," Sayori said sweetly and began to walk away. For lack of better things to do—and the suspicion it would piss off Aido—and ran after her.

"Hey, Wakaba-san" I said shortly. After the way she treated Aido, I wasn't really sure what to call her.

"_You _can call me Yori," she told me gently.

"Well, thanks," I said.

Yori gave me a piecing look that made me want to curl up in a ball for some reason. I fought against reaction and my features showed nothing.

"You're thinking about someone who hurt you," she said emotionlessly. This girl was _weird_! Why was I following her again?

_Oh yeah, Rima hates me and life is no longer worth living_, I thought darkly.

"It's a long story," I told her.

"We have time," Yori pointed out. I looked at her expressionlessly. She was right. And for some reason I would never be able to understand, I explained everything to this girl.

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**YORI'S POV:**

When he finished his story, a wave of pity washed over me. How could someone go through such a painful ordeal? Although what I found most pitiful was that he had no idea why she left.

"I don't think Touya-san hates you," I said softly. Shiki blinked at me.

"But she said—" he started but I cut him off sharply.

"It doesn't matter what she said," I told him. "People lie to others quite frequently, especially people who have been hurt by something."

"Especially to the person who is entirely to blame," he added bitterly. I thought about Zero and Yuuki.

"They close off from everyone and keep mostly to themselves. There is someone they need to open up to. _You are that person! _Don't give up on her, no matter what she says!" I ordered him.

"What part of 'she hates me' makes no sense to you," Shiki snorted.

"The fact that she lied," I replied in kind. "She probably said that because she wants you to stay away from her so she doesn't hurt you more than she has to."  
Shiki stared at me like I had told him that dogs were actually cats and cats were actually dogs.

"She isn't that stupid," he said flatly.

"I never said she was stupid," I said shrugging.

"Then she would know that—"

"Did you ever consider that the reason she left isn't completely about you?" I snapped. I didn't want to be _harsh _with him, but the only person I'd ever met who was so self-centered was that idiot blonde playboy! Why was it that Shiki thought he was the only reason his childhood friend left? She wouldn't do that to him.

"Well…" he said unsurely and I closed my eyes so I didn't start screaming at his stupidity.

"Just…try talking to her, OK?" I said sighing.

"I already did and it didn't work!" he said exasperatedly.

"Then try again," I said bluntly. Shiki shook his head.

"She won't talk to me," Shiki said and for the first time I could see the complete agony in his eyes. It was so painful looking it almost hurt _me. _I just shrugged.

"You just aren't trying hard enough. Either that or you're going the complete wrong way," I advised him.

"Going the wrong way…?"

"Yes. Just prove to her that she can trust you, just like she did when you two were younger," I said calmly.

"Yori-chan! There you—oh. Hello," Yuuki said as she came running up to me. Naturally, Zero was right behind her, looking as dangerous as ever.

"What are you doing?" Zero asked me.

"Just giving an idiot advice," I said and got up before Shiki could protest.

"Are you ready to go?" Yuuki asked me and I nodded.

As I was walking away Shiki called my name.

"Hey, Yori? Thanks," he called and I nodded.

"No problem," I responded and left the poor idiot to figure the rest out himself, silently praying that my advice could help him.

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**RIMA POV:**

I heard all of Sayori and Senri's conversation. How the hell did that girl know me so damn well? I sighed. Thanks to her advice, my whole only-hurt-Senri-once-like-a-band-aide plan was failing miserably!

I mentally cursed Wakaba Sayori to hell and back again as I made my way home.

"I wish Mama hadn't lost her job in America. I wish we did have to come back. I wish _it _hadn't happened. I wish I didn't have to hurt Senri. I wish…I wish I could tell him everything," I continued to ramble to myself for a while and a realization hit me: if I had told Senri about his _condition _as his mother called it, nothing would have turned out like this.

So technically, it wasn't Senri's fault. But at this point, it was too late to tell him anything.

_That doesn't mean his mother can't! _

Without another thought, Rima turned around and prayed with all her might that the Shiki household was still where she remembered.

"Senri's mother with tell him everything!" she murmured to herself. She seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. Rima didn't care what she had to do, Senri would know, even though he would probably hate her forever.

"He deserves to know," Rima whispered. When she reached the house, she was positive that it held the same residence. She ran to the door and knocked on it hastily. A maid opened the door and stared at Rima in surprise.

"Touya-san?" she asked confused.

"Is she here?" Rima demanded between panting breaths. The maid nodded and moved aside so Rima could pass through. Fully prepared to run all the way around the house to find Shiki's mother, Rima was surprised—but grateful—when the woman in question stood right in front of her. The woman of the household gazed at the exhausted mother for a few moments.

"Hello there Rima," she said rather pleasantly, especially considering the circumstances of their last meeting.

"Tell him," Rima said flatly.

"Now why would I do that?" the older woman laughed. "After all, I sent you away to make sure my son never found out what happened that night. And consider how easy it is to see it all as _your_ fault."

"Tell him!" Rima all but screamed in frustration.

"Don't tell me what to do child. Remember that your daughter could easily be stripped away from you. I do have some rights over her after all."

Rima turned pale.

"No. You can't take her away from me," Rima whispered.

"Yes I can. And if you want to keep her, Senri will never know," his mother said coldly.

That was it. Her very last hope was gone.

"Fine," Rima said and turned away. As she left, she crashed into someone and fell over.

"Second time today that hapened to—Rima?"

Rima stared fearfully into Shiki's eyes.

_I'm sorry, _she mouthed and walked away. Walked away from the eyes she could've saved from this torture.

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WOOT!! THIS IS THE LONGEST CHAPTER I HAVE EVER WRITTEN FOR ANYTHING!!I wasn't planning on originally adding all the other characters from the VK cast but I couldn't help but add all the pairings I like! XD And what Aido does to win Yori will be in the next chapter. I mostly did it because at the rate I'm going, the whole plot of the story will end too soon so I'm going to distract myself by adding random other things that involve everyone else. Sorry!! I also can't help but add a little bit of humor in this story. I always do. Anyway, keep the **REVIEWS **coming!! And I'm already working on the third chapter!!


	3. Be My Escape

**Author's note: **Normally I would ramble about something important, but at the moment I'm too freakin lazy so I'm just going to say that I don't own Vampire Knight. As a warning, this chapter is going to go a bit off the angsty stuff and add a bit of humor at _someone's _expense. So if you are totally anti-funny, don't even both reading this chapter!

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**SHIKI'S POV:**

I yawned for the millionth time that morning. I hadn't slept at all, thinking about Rima's sudden appearance (and even quicker departure) from my house the other day. To make matters even more confusing, my own mother would tell me nothing, something unusual since she told me _everything. _

In an attempt to forget my troubles with a certain girl, I thought about what Yori was making Aido do today.

"You can't be serious!" I heard said blonde playboy cry.

"You said anything," Yori scolded him. I turned around and saw her holding a big bag that contained something very big and VERY pink. "But if you don't want to follow through…."

It was obvious how she trailed the words along, but either Aido was too idiotic to notice—it wouldn't have surprised me—or he was so into this girl he didn't give a damn.

"I'll do it!" he said, his shoulders slumping slightly in defeat. Without a change in expression, Yori handed him the bag and pushed him towards the boys' bathroom.

"What're you planning on making him do?" I asked suspiciously. Yori smiled innocently.

"You'll see in a moment," she promised me. "You might want to take out a camera or something."

And see I did because a few seconds later, out darted Aido, his whole face red, dressed in a bright pink pig costume. Everyone was silent for a long moment before peals of laughter erupted from everyone. Even Seiren grinned and that was saying something. My jaw dropped. Was it possible that someone like Aido Hanabusa would put himself through public humiliation for one date with a girl? Apparently so because the worst was yet to come.

"Time to sing and dance little piggy!" Yori chuckled and pressed a button on a tape recorder. A tune began to play that I didn't recognize, but Aido did because his face scrunched up in horror. For a minute I thought he was going to back out. But he proceeded to sing.

"Oink, oink, oink, I'm a little pink piggy with an itty bitty snout and curly whirly tail!" he half-sang half-shouted. Aido repeated the song twice before stopping. Yori looked rather pleased.

"Good job," she said. "I didn't think you'd actually do it."

Aido sighed deeply and took a breath as if he was preparing for a long speech.

"Now, Wakaba Sayori, that I have officially destroyed my image, will you _please _go on a date with me," he asked in one whole breath.

"I guess I have to," Yori said.

"YES!" Aido yelled and I snorted at his enthusiasm. I was still as surprised as anyone that he'd actually done this, as were the rest of his friends.

"My opinion of him sunk three levels," Ruka said haughtily.

"Your opinion of him was below zero," I pointed out and she glared at me.

"It still sunk," she sniffed and walked away. Quickly, I pulled out my phone and took a picture of Aido dancing around victoriously, still in the pig suit. I was going to need this for the rest of my life. Memories may be worth a thousand pictures (or how ever the hell that saying goes), but when it comes to black mail, pictures are more important.

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**RIMA'S POV:**

I watched in amusement as Aido humiliated himself by dancing and singing in a pig suit, over one single girl. I had gone to school with Aido for many years, just like pretty much everyone else at the school, except for when I left for a year and a half. But in America, I didn't go to school at all.

America. Mikazuki's birthplace. The place that had been my temporary haven.

"Isn't it amazing that one girl could hold so much power of someone like Aido Hanabusa?" someone said from behind me. I jumped then turned around to see someone I hadn't seen in a while. Ichijou Takuma, the person I missed second most in my…absence.

"God, do you have to scare me every time you come near me?" I demanded.

"I've never been called God before, although the title sounds interesting," he joked. I stared in amazement. He made no comment on the fact that I had left without a word then suddenly returned. He made it seem like I'd never left! Of course, Takuma was always like that, so warm and welcoming.

I met him in the second grade with Senri. I tried to remember the beautiful memory of childhood, and sure enough, it came:

_I heard the cry of someone close and I turned to Senri. _

_"Someone's crying," I said. "You wanna check it out?"_

_Normally we stuck together and stayed out of other peoples' business, but I felt compelled to find the sobbing child myself. Senri was too because he nodded and we both went into the direction of the crying._

_A little blonde boy with bright green eyes was sitting on the ground._

_"What's wrong?" I asked._

_"I was just trying to be nice and they…pushed me," the small boy squeaked. It seemed mine and Senri's emotionless expressions intimidated him. Neither of us found that surprising since it was _always _like that._

_"You're too nice," Senri said bluntly. At the time, we were so young that none of us realized Senri was having his first true taste of jealousy._

Senri never had a reason to be jealous, but sharing was something he hadn't had to do growing up and before Takuma,he never had to share me. He got over it eventually; he and Takuma had become friends—not half as close and Senri was with me and I with him—and they were both mature enough to know that messing up a friendship over a member of the opposite sex is stupid.

"You know what I mean," I snorted and he grinned, the light in his eyes glowing again. Suddenly, his face turned relatively serious.

"You broke him when you left," he said softly. I didn't take a genius to figure out what he was talking about and where this conversation was headed.

"I didn't have a choice," I whispered.

"His mother had a play in it didn't she?" Takuma guessed grimly.

"When doesn't she?" I pointed out bitterly. "She threatened against my mother and she threatened to take Mikazuki away from—"

"Mikazuki?" Takuma interrupted me, curiosity coloring his voice. The thing about Takuma is this: if he's curious, he won't let it drop. I took a deep breath. I needed to tell _someone _and with Senri not being an option, this seemed like my best chance. So I told him everything.

He already knew about Senri's 'problem' as his mother called it, but he didn't know the specifics about what happened exactly. His facial expression when I told him about Mikazuki being my daughter was priceless though.

"If she looks like her mommy, she is going to need someone to save her from all the hormone-crazy boys that will be following her around everywhere," he chuckled and I smacked his shoulder lightly.

"Shut up pervert! This is my one and a half year old daughter we're talking about," I said quietly and Takuma stopped laughing, although his smile was kept in place. Only then did I realize his reaction wasn't at all what I had anticipated.

"You're taking it all fairly well," he commented.

"So are you," I pointed out.

"Do I get to meet her someday?" he asked hopefully. I rolled my eyes. If you talk about something cute, Takuma would be first in line to see it. Take the rabid squirrel in fifth grade for example. Me and Senri had to hold him back to stop him from petting the disgusting rodent, despite the foam coming out of its mouth.

"Sure. Whatever," I said carelessly.

"How about after school today?" he demanded.

"What?! Don't you think that's a bit fast?" I hinted.

"Your mom remembers me!" Takuma said, not seeming to take the hint.

"Yeah, as the boy who tried to pet our goldfish," I snorted.

"She still remembers me," he sniffed. I sighed and pulled nervously on one of my orange pigtails.

"Fine, but you can't tell anyone! Not even Senri knows," I ordered, forgetting that I was supposed to refer to him as Shiki now.

"I got it, I got it," he said rolling his eyes. He all but danced away and I grumbled about annoying pests like him to myself, not even noticing a flash of reddish-brown hair and silvery eyes vanishing.

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**ICHIJOU POV:**

As soon as I was far enough that I was sure Rima couldn't see me, I started dancing. Why not? My plan was working perfectly! What plan? Plan Get-Senri-And-Rima-Together-Again!

Step one: Get Senri jealous so he'll totally start stalking Rima!

My only concern for this was that he'd get jealous and punch me in the face. I kept reminding myself that anything would be a worthy sacrifice for the cause of getting my two friends together again.

Step two: …what's step two again?

Maybe Plan Get-Senri-And-Rima-Together-Again needed a bit more work….

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**SHIKI POV:**

_That's it. I'm totally going to start stalking Rima, _I thought grimly. _And while I'm at it, I just might punch Ichijou in the face._

**SHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMA**

OK that last part from Shiki's POV wasn't supposed to happen, but I couldn't help but add it since it seemed so perfect!

REVIEWS ARE LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRVED!! I'll take good care of them, I promise ;)


	4. In Pieces

**Author's note: **Rawr!! I hate Kaname with a friggin passion at this point in the anime…something that is furthermore proof that I don't own Vampire Knight: if I did, Yuuki would've taken Zero's gun and killed Kaname! And Rima and Senri would be together, but that isn't the point.

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**RIMA'S POV:**

I scowled at Takuma, who bounded towards me as soon as the bell rang.

_What a shame. All day I'd been hoping he would forget_, I thought grumpily. But when you're going to see you childhood friend's baby, you don't exactly forget it over the time span of a few hours.

"Let's go, Rima-chan!" he said cheerily, proceeding to further the darkness that radiated off of me. If the idiot noticed, he made no comment and seized my wrist and all but dragged me off school campus, gathering many looks, much to my irritation.

"You aren't helping my shitty mood," I growled and he smiled brilliantly.

"Who says I'm trying?" Takuma asked cheerfully. I let out a little growl and I sent evil sparks out of my eyes, a trick Senri taught me in grade school. It worked well because Takuma shut up all the way to my place.

"I'm home, Mama," I called.

"Take your child!" my mother snapped as she came from the hall. She froze when she saw Takuma. "Aren't you the one who tried to eat our goldfish?"

_I told you so, _I mouthed and Takuma wrinkled his nose at me the way he always would when something wasn't going to plan with him.

"Ah, well, yes…but that was a long time ago!" he said uncomfortably.

"We don't have a goldfish now anyways," my mother said, a half-smile crossing her face as she handed me Mikazuki. Or maybe she was just glad to hand off the kid.

"So this is Touya Mikazuki-san?" Takuma asked slowly as Mikazuki grabbed a lock of his hair playfully.

"Uh-huh," I said blandly.

"SHE'S SO CUTE!" he squealed and seized my daughter. My jaw dropped and I wondered if Mikazuki would start crying. To my surprise, she started laughing and tugging on his hair and his uniform shirt.

"Um," was the best response I could manage to come up with in response. Seriously, what the hell do you say when you friend steals you baby and starts squealing about her, and then you find out that she seems to like him better than you?

"Hiiiiiiiiii Mika-chan!" Takuma squeal.

"You already have a nickname for her?" I gasped. Horror filled me. _Mika-chan? What a horrible nick name!!_

"I'm Takuma Ichijou. But you can call me oji-san!" he said, totally ignoring me.

"OJI-SAN??" I cried. My mother just made a sound that seemed like a cross between a laugh and a cough.

"You're supposed to me on my side!" I told her crossly.

"I think goldfish boy would make a great uncle for Mika-chan," she said happily.

"Not you as well," I groaned. _Maybe I should've named her something else_…_but it's too late now I suppose._

My mother walked away, abandoning me with 'Taku-oji-san' and 'Mika-chan'.

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**TAKUMA POV:**

My original plan wasn't to stay as long as I did and have such a good time with Mika-chan, but she was so adorable. It was painfully obvious that she was Rima's daughter. Like a mini-Rima one could say.

But eventually I said my goodbyes and left the house.

"Ichijou."

"Hey, Shiki!" I said cheerfully, turning around to see my current worst nightmare leaning against a wall, glaring at me like he was prepared to…punch me in the face. Lovely. It was sort of funny how much he looked like Zero leaning against that wall. And the dark I'm-about-to-kill-you aura surrounded him also. The sooner he got with Rima the better. That was what cheered good old Zero up.

"What were you doing at Rima's house?" he asked me carefully.

"She got another goldfish and I just dropped by to see if I could eat it," I joked. Senri didn't seem to find this amusing in the least. He grabbed the front of my shirt and help me up against the wall he'd previously been leaning on. And that was when I realized that it wasn't Senri I was speaking to. Not exactly anyway.

"I'm going to ask you one more time before I beat you to a pulp: what were you doing at Rima's house?" he said softly. I shuddered. It would've been so much better if he'd yelled the words. Before I could reply, a voice came from behind us.

"Don't touch him, Shiki," Rima said flatly. So she could tell from a distance that 'it' was happening. Interesting.

"Why not?" he snapped, anger echoing through every syllable as he spoke. Never had they fought like that before. But things change, as do people.

"Because…just don't hurt him," Rima repeated and she grabbed my arm defensively.

"That's not a good enough answer."

"Go Takuma," Rima told me softly. "Let me deal with this."

"Give—uh, _your mom_ a hug for me," I said and left slowly. I knew what I was leaving behind wasn't a pretty scene, but I also knew that they both had to face 'it' if they were going to get over the problem.

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**SHIKI'S POV:**

The last thing I remembered was my decision to punch Takuma in the face and stalk Rima. When I opened my eyes, I was staring at Rima who was holding a vase which was broken and looked sincerely apologetic. I felt blood trickle down my cheek and realized that she must've _hit me with it_! I blinked and said nothing. At least she was yelling at me or running away.

"What happened?" I asked her slowly.

"You…uh…ran into this…um…vase and I...uh…found you?" she said lamely.

_Yeah, because people totally run into vases all the time,_ I almost said, but instead I frowned.

"I ran into a vase?" I repeated.

"Yup," Rima said. "I came out and saw you on the ground next to this vase."

"The vase you're mother bought for cheap at a garage sale three years ago?"

Rima froze. I remembered that vase. It was beautiful, light brown with a blood-red rose painted on it. The golden vines that curled around the now broken vase still glowed.

"I left it out to soak," Rima explained.

"It isn't raining," I reminded her.

"I wanted it to sun soak so it would last longer," Rima said as if I should understand this.

"Well it looks like that didn't work out so well since I, ah, ran into it," I said delicately, gesturing towards the broken vase Rima held.

"Oh, yes, well…that was…" Rima looked like she was struggling for words, but I chose not to assist. After all, the longer it took her to find words, the longer she would grace me with her presence.

"I could replace it," I offered.

"No, no don't worry about it," Rima said hastily. "Mother hated it anyway."

I raised an eyebrow. Back when she first bought it, I do recall Rima's mother saying that the vase was her prized possession and she would give her life for it. So either I was dead for running into it or Rima was royally screwed for hitting me over the head with it.

"But I thought your mom loved that thing?"

"She hates it now."

"And you decided to preserve it by setting it in the sun for that reason?"

"Exactly!" Rima said cheerfully. "Now that we have that all cleared up, don't you think you should be heading home?"

"What happened, Rima?" I said quietly. "Please don't lie to me."

Rima's fake cheerfulness faded away.

"Don't you think that I would've by now if I had the choice?" she asked me painfully.

"Is you hitting me over the head with a vase somehow connected to you leaving for a year and a half?" I demanded. Only when the words were out did I realize how stupid they sounded. Rima started laughing suddenly.

"That sounds funny when you put it like that," she laughed. She laughed so hard tears filled her eyes. I only noticed the cut under her eye when a streak of blood mixed with the tears.

"You're bleeding," I said and jumped up. I took a step towards her and she flinched slightly.

"When the vase shattered, a piece came flying at me," she said quickly. That wasn't what it looked like to me. The cut was too deep and too perfect to have been done by a flying shard of glass. Also, the chunks of porcelain that scattered the ground were too small to have done anything that bad. The rest of the vase was split in hald, plus a couple bigger shards that were dangerously close to falling off either side.

"Sure, Rima," I said rolling my eyes. Rima nodded absently. She looked at the yellow-orange sky.

"It's getting late," she said gently and made her way to the front door.

"Hey, Rima?"

"Yeah?"

"…It's nothing. Never mind."

I was too much of a coward to come up with the words I really wanted to say. Rima gave me a strange looked and danced up to the door before opening it and walking inside. She closed the door with a light slam. I shuddered, not because of the sound, but because that slamming of the door made me feel like she had closed the door on everything we had in the past.

"Bye, Rima," I whispered to no one in particular before making my slow way to my house.

Only then did it occur to me that I still didn't know what happened between leaving school and waking up with after "running into a vase."

**SHIMASHIMAASHIMASHIMASHIIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMAHSIMASHIMA**

And so ends chapter four which explains nothing except that there is definitely something wrong with Senri…and Rima sucks at lying. Has anyone figured out what's wrong with him yet? I hope not because that would ruin my plans! I almost put in a big hint, but I deleted it and wrote the whole conversation about the vase instead. **REVIEW!!**


	5. Ready To Fall

**Author's note: **I pretty much came up with this whole chapter in about three minutes so my deepest apologies is it sucks really bad XD. I don't own Vampire Knight and I never will, if that isn't obvious enough…

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**RIMA'S POV:**

Even at school, the memory of when I smashed the vase over Senri's head…the sound of shattering porcelain…the blood. I shuddered. Even though we had a full conversation—albeit one that made no sense at all—I still opted to pretend he didn't exist.

I was sitting my melancholic thoughts when I heard the teacher enter the classroom and begin speaking. I was zoning out until I heard him say 'new student.'

"Who do you think it is?"

"I wonder if he's cute!"

"We need another guy on our team. Maybe he'll play."

Various whispers filled the room. Sort of like the day I came back, only the whispers were suggestions of why I left in the first place, each more crazy than the next. None were anywhere near correct, but then again, no one had any idea what the threat of power can do.

"Please, class, settle down so you don't make a bad impression on—oh! Class, please welcome Kiryuu Ichiru!"

Gasps filled the entire room and I admit even I was caught by surprise. The boy who walked in was either Kiryuu Zero's twin who Zero had failed to mention or somewhere out there, aliens were kidnapping us one-by-one and cloning us. My mind drifted and I wondered if there was extraterrestrial life out there and they were going to clone me next. I wondered if _I _was actually the clone and the real me would come and kill me and it'd be like the clones that kill the Jedi in Star Wars! Wait…what? I groaned as I felt the sharp hammer of confusion slamming itself into my head. But a sharp voice brought me out of my ridiculous thinking.

"You!" Zero said dangerously, glaring at his clone—uh, I mean twin, because the glance they shared was a dead giveaway that they not only knew each other, but had a really bad past relationship. That would make a lot of sense.

"Hello, _onii-san_!" Ichiru said cheerfully. As much as he and Zero looked alike, their personalities were like black and white. But black and white always met in the middle to make gray. _Or silver in the twins' case_, I thought with slight amusement.

"Why. Are. You. Here?" Zero's words were stressed carefully and it seemed like they'd both forgotten about the rest of us.

"I figured you'd have this sort of reaction," Ichiru said calmly.

"Then why'd you even come?" demanded the other's perfect replica, losing his patience. Ichiru smiled innocently and I had an epiphany: if you combined Zero and Takuma, this is what you would get.

I shook my head furiously. Right in front of me was an insane drama and my mind was wandering off to not even God knows where. What the hell was my problem?

_Oh yeah, I hit a guy over the head with my mother's favorite vase and got no sleep because my stupid fucking conscious hates me!_

I'm not frequently a vulgar person, but hell with it all, I was sleep deprived and dealing with too much for me to handle.

"Because I need a favor from you," Ichiru said and I noticed his voice had grown stiffer and more unwilling.

"Like hell I'm doing any favors for you!" snapped Zero. Even the teacher was interested in the conversation I supposed because he hadn't told them to stop.

"Don't do it for me then," Ichiru said, desperation tinting his voice. "Do it for _Maria_." At this point, Ichiru's eyes were pleading and it was obvious that whoever Maria was, she was important to him.

"_Maria_…?! What kind of trouble is she in now?" Zero asked, rolling his eyes in an attempt to hide the shock that crossed his face at Maria's name.

"Later, onii-san," Ichiru said curtly and the trance over the class was broken.

"Yes, as nice as it is to see two brothers reunited," --at this Zero let out a snort-- "it would be better if you two finished this later," the teacher said. I couldn't even remember his name. Ichiru nodded and walked up the aisle. And just because the world hates me so damn much, the only empty seat in the classroom was next to me.

"You know, he's pretty cute. Zero would be too if he wasn't so intimidating," some random girl near me whispered to her friend. And so began to New-Student comments that the idiotic teacher either couldn't hear or was too lazy stop.

_Today's forecast: very shitty with a slight chance of rain, _I thought darkly and began my daily routine of counting the seconds until class got out.

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**SHIKI'S POV:**

_Who would've guessed it, Zero having a twin that he failed to mention_. Thoughts crossed through my head like flying butterflies that danced with each other in the sky as I made my way home from school. Memories from my childhood wormed their way in before I could stop them.

_The house was big and lonely in my mind, even at huge events like the one that was going on now, in celebration of my mother's birthday. I was bored out of my mind. My mother showed me off like a trophy to all her friends. But then Rima and her mother came. Rima's father was an old "friend" of my mother's and my mother had invited Touya-san and her daughter as somewhat of a condolence of him ditching her for some French lady I guess. Not that I really cared. Rima came in, holding her mother's hand, her beautiful cerulean eyes wide as she took in the sight of our fine house, all the marble and statues and paintings and who knows what else my mother had bought and put in. As an actress, she had enough money and power to influence quite a number of people. _

"_Senri, this is Rima," my mother introduced her. The small girl pulled on one of her orange pigtails that were held up with black lace as she gave me a one look over. She said absolutely nothing and I took an instant interest in her. After all, she didn't seem to care that I was the heir to all of this, unlike most children._

"_Hello, Rima," I said in an attempt to be a "kind host"._

"_Hello," she said flatly and didn't even spare me a look. I frowned. There had to be some way to get her attention. Then I saw her put a box of pocky. My mouth watered. My mother had strict rules against eating food like that. Only when I thought of my mother did I realize she had left. _

"_Hey there, Senri!" someone said from behind me. My uncle. _

"_Hello, Uncle," I said shortly. My uncle made no comment only poked my flat stomach and chuckled. I winced at the sharpness of the jab._

"_You need to put on some more weight boy," he stated and walked away. I stared and turned around to see Rima holding out a stick of her precious strawberry pocky. I gave her a glance and as if to say 'for me?' _

_Rima nodded and fed me the pocky. After that, we became friends and Rima developed a habit of feeding me whenever she was around. Needless to say, I put on some weight. Not enough for my uncle to be pleased or my mother to be upset, but enough so I didn't starve to death. _

I blinked as I forced all the happy memories out of my mind. Things weren't like that anymore and I needed to stop.

_Besides, Rima doesn't want my help, so what's the point? _

Yeah, on my way home from when she hit me with a vase, I decided to leave her alone. And I did! All day I had gone no where near her if I could help it. I was so deep in my thoughts, I almost missed a flash of silver. But I didn't and I looked up to see Zero. No wait. _Ichiru. _I could tell because the younger twin—or so he'd told everyone—wore his hair longer, dressed brighter, and didn't carry as much of a scary aura.

"Hey, Senri," he said cheerfully. As happy as his tone was, there was a darkness in his eyes that told me he was occupied with something and that kept me from demanding why he was being so familiar with me.

"What're doing out here," I asked bluntly. Ichiru sighed deeply.

"Hoping to see Maria," he said miserably and all traces of happiness evaporated from his purple eyes.

"What makes you think she's here?" I asked suddenly feeling curious. Ichiru's lips twisted into something that almost resembled a smile if it weren't so sad.

"Maria Kurenai," he began. "Is a childhood friend of mine and Zero's, although she was a lot closer to me than him because, well, Zero is sort of…unsocial to say the least. Anyway, Japan is our home place and Maria told me she often thought about coming back. I just wonder why she left so suddenly."

For some reason, the story reminded me of Rima, Takuma and myself and bitterness stabbed through my heart like a blade of ice.

"Why do you care so goddamned much about one girl who will probably just break your heart in the end?" I asked darkly and Ichiru smiled slightly. I probably sounded like Zero….

"No matter how many times she breaks it, Maria will always have my whole heart. Once you give your heart to someone the way I did to her, you can never take it back," Ichiru said shaking his head slightly. I frowned. This was sounding uncomfortably familiar to a memory I wanted to forget.

"Then why even give it?"

"Because she gave me her's in exchange," he replied as if that should make it all clear to me.

"If love hurts so much then why do people do it in the first place?" I demanded. Only when the words were out did I realize how childish they sounded, but at the moment, I didn't really care. Ichiru looked at me as if deciding whether answering me was even worth it. Apparently it was.

"Love is like learning to walk. You fall a lot in the process and it hurts even more, but that's part of learning. And every time you fall, you can always count on someone being there to help you get up so you can try again, no matter how many times you fall," he said gently.

"Is that what Maria is to you?" I asked slowly. There was something about this guy who made you want to treat everyone like your best friend. Almost like Ichijou, just less happy.

"Are you willing to fall?" Ichiru asked me. Was it that pathetically obvious that I was having "girl trouble" as Ichijou insisted on calling in. Ichijou...Ichiru...hell no!

Ichiru smirked as if he'd read my mind. "Ichijou told me," he explained.

Ugh. So they _were_ in cahoots with each other! I let the thought brush by and I looked back on the past, on everything Rima and I had gone through _together. _And then I made my final decision.

"Fall? Hell, I would _jump _off a fucking _roof _for Rima," I growled and Ichiru grinned.

"That's what I thought," he told me smugly. Without another word, the annoyingly philosophical almost-stranger walked away.

"Hey, Ichiru?" I called.

"Yeah?"

"Good luck with Maria-san."

"I love her, Senri. I don't doubt that I'll be able to find her."

I turned around and continued my walk home, thinking over Ichiru's words, especially his last ones. So, just because he loved Maria, he was sure he could find her? Ichiru was a weird guy for sure, but he gave some good advice and was a hell of a lot more helpful than Ichijou.

I closed my eyes and hoped with everything I had, that the fact that when we were eight I'd give my heart to Rima, I could help her. Maybe I could, all I needed was to go slower. To walk, as Ichiru put it. I thought about the time when I gave my heart to Rima. I wondered if she even remembered.

_We were eight and sat under a big tree by the lake on my grandfather's property. He invited me to stay for the weekend and I agreed on the condition that Rima be allowed to come with me. Rima's bond with me seemed to interest my grandfather to no end so he quickly agreed, _

_"I heard my mother crying a week ago," Rima said quietly as she pulled on her left pigtail, a habit she'd always had. "She was talking about how she gave her heart to my daddy and he took it with him when he left. She said he broke it." _

_I blinked._

_"What do you think it's like, giving your heart to someone?" I asked thoughtfully. Rima shrugged. _

_"I don't know, but I guess my dad didn't give my mother his in return," she said sadly. I hugged her quickly. _

_"Here Rima," I said and poked her nose, which she wrinkled as a reaction. _

_"What are you talking about?' she asked sounding absolutely confused. I chuckled._

_"I just gave you my whole heart, Rima," I told her. Her bright eyes widened even bigger than they already were and I waited impatiently for her reaction._

_"Well, you already had mine," she said after a little while. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her treasured box of pocky. She pulled out one and instead of offering to me like a normal friend would, she stuck it in my mouth. "You can have my heart _and _my pocky," Rima told me with the smile she saved only for me when we were alone. _

_"I'm not going to give it back," I teased her. Rima wrinkled her nose again._

_"Well, then you can't have yours back either," she grumbled._

"_I don't want mine back," I said. "It's yours to keep." Rima smiled._

"_You can keep mine, too," she said._

"_Do ya promise?"_

"_I promise."_

_It wasn't like something that eight-year-olds do as a joke. I wasn't kidding when I said she had my heart. Neither was she. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my grandfather listening with a strange smile on his face. _

I never told Rima that we had a witness. Not that it really mattered. My grandfather died six years later and the property went to my mother, and was just another thing I would be destined to inherit.

I sighed at the happy memory. I meant every word, even to this day. Almost ten years ago I basically confessed my love to Rima in the special way only little kids can do. Rima took my heart with her when she left. The only question that posed was whether or not I still had hers. I frowned and thought on it a little more.

Rima wasn't one to go back on her word, and as I replayed the scene by the lake in my head, I firmly decided that even if Rima took her heart back, she still had mine--whether she knew it or not--and that's what counted. My smile vanished when I realized how ridiculous my thoughts sounded, even to myself.

_Oh shit. At this rate I'm going to sound like that damn Ichiru. Now I see why Zero hates him so much. _

**SHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMA**

Yeah, I know I just added another conflict, two new characters, and Ichiru has major problems, but I was bored and I love Ichiru and Maria together! And I had no choice but to put in a small, cheesy, as-children shima moment! Review and tell me whether it sucked or not! Or just review cuz ya feel like it :3


	6. The Truth About Heaven

I have decided to start replying to reviews I get here so if you've reviewed chapter 5 (before I put this up!), you're name will be here, if not, just skip this and keep reading if you so desire!

**georgiasakura- **You've reviewed every single chapter so far and I feel very compelled to thank you for that! And yes, a happy Ichiru is very cute!

**shikixxrima- **if I explained everything too soon the whole thing would end way faster than I'd like it to! But don't worry, every single thing I put in here will all tie in to the plot and at the end everything will make a lot of sense!! I promise so don't hack me up with a chain saw just yet!

**hellopanda23- **Yay! My story didn't suck! I didn't even really think of the heart giving/breaking as a metaphor until you brought it up -.-' so thanks!

Finally, I don't own Vampire Knight!

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**SHIKI'S POV:**

I walked aimlessly around the school campus, praying for some higher being to send some sort of entertainment my way before I lost my resolve to take things slow with Rima.

"Hey Senri."

I jumped at Ichiru's cheery voice and silently sent my thanks.

"Hey," I said shortly and slid down the trunk of the nearest tree until I was sitting, my knees pulled up to my chest the way Rima did whenever she was bored. Without any sort of form of an invitation, Ichiru plopped down next to me.

"What're you up to? Anything interesting?" he asked me. I gave him a look that said _'what does it look like to you?'_

"Any sign of Maria?" I asked, treading into dangerous waters. I wasn't exactly sure the reaction I would get by bringing up the missing girl, but I was so bored it wouldn't have mattered if Ichiru had punched me in the nose. It was better than doing nothing and thinking about—damn it all!

"No," Ichiru said disappointedly.

"What is it about Maria that you love so much?" I asked. Why I was diving headfirst into the very subject I was trying to avoid: girls. Ichiru stared at me as if he knew exactly what I was thinking.

"Maria was one of the first children I met my age besides Zero," he said sadly. "Maria brings me happiness whenever I feel sad, especially when my parents disowned Zero and—"

"Hold up!" I interrupted. "Zero was _disowned?_ Why?" Ichiru smile wryly.

"That's Zero's story. I don't think even Yuuki knows it. But he was _sent away _when we were thirteen and Maria was twelve. My parents sent him to live with an old friend of theirs who went by the name of Kaien Cross," he told me simply and I scowled. How helpful…

"So, back to Maria," I hinted.

"After Zero left, I became incredibly lonely and almost killed myself a few times. So my parents sought me a playmate, who became Maria. The Kurenai family lost everything when Maria's father went missing and my parents welcomed them under the condition that I was graced with the company of Maria. At first, Maria was hesitant, but after a while, we got close. Zero met Maria on a request from her," Ichiru continued and paused at this as if the memory frustrated him slightly.

"So Maria wanted to meet him and he was called back a little while?" I asked, slightly incredulous that one girl had this much power over a family.

"Yes. Maria knew me so well she thought that a brief visit from Zero would make me feel better. And it did, but Zero decided that he was in Maria's debt and left a quickly as he could."

"Is that why he's helping you?"

"Well, it's definitely not because I'm his favorite person in the world. Actually, the more I see Yuuki, the more I think of Maria and I believe that Zero has Yuuki in mind whenever he thinks of Maria," Ichiru said. thoughtfully.

"I see," I said, even though I totally didn't. Ichiru for once, didn't pick up on my lie. He was too busy frowning.

"Although I think it has something to do with Shizuka-sama," he added.

"_Who_?"

"She's Maria's cousin who lives here. Shizuka-sama is quite dangerous and I believe that she is the reason Maria is here," Ichiru said and I could tell he wasn't telling me something.

"I still don't understand why Zero would have anything to do with Maria's cousin," I said blandly. Again, Ichiru smiled, although this time is was dangerous and all the Ichijou-ness that had radiated off of him was replaced with a darker aura that hinted me that this woman was a big play in the past.

"I suggest you ask Zero. He would be glad to tell you all about Shizuka-sama," Ichiru said. He got up and walked away only to see Zero glaring daggers at him from across the field. _Oh shit_.

"Don't talk about her _ever again _to _anyone!" _he hissed furiously and walked away. Stormed away would be a more appropriate term though. I was surprised. Sure Zero wasn't exactly the kindest of all people, but this woman…. Then it occurred to me I learned absolutely nothing about love. Who knew Ichiru was so good at dodging questions, especially ones that I desperately needed answers to.

And to make it all so much better I only got a bunch more questions to ask. Speaking of which…I decided that asking Zero about this Shizuka woman would probably be that last thing I did, but at least I wouldn't have to think about Rima. Wait.

_Goddamn it all! _Why did my thoughts always go running back to her? I scowled and rose up. I slowly made my way toward the school building, wondering why my day was so bad. My 'take-it-slow' plan wasn't working in my favor. No, not at all.

Just when I thought my day couldn't get any worse, I collided straight into someone.

_I swear, if I've run into that damn Aido again I'm going to shave his head!_

I looked at the person who I was sitting on my stomach and my eyes widened.

Yeah, I was really having a shitty day.

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**RIMA'S POV:**

I sat with Yuuki and Sayori—Yuuki insisted I called Yori-chan—, wondering just how the hell I got myself into the situation where I was watching poor Yori getting mobbed with questions about her 'insane date with Aido-senpai!' and Yori attempting to ignore her by reading a book. Her plan was failing pathetically.

"Why won't you tell us, Yori-chan?!" Yuuki squealed. Honestly, she was starting to sound like Aido's fan girls. I wondered if it was because of Zero's distancing himself more than usual and she was trying to distract herself.

"If you must know, I'm going on another date with him this weekend," Yori whispered.

"REALLY?" Yuuki screamed and both Yori and I rolled our eyes. I'd had enough and decided that Yori had dealt with Yuuki for many years and could handle it without me. I was now bored as hell and my day already sucked, because I needed to find Mikazuki a babysitter. Some I could trust…someone who was good with kids…someone like—oh god no! Not _Takuma!_ The thought of him babysitting my daughter made me shudder.

"I'm out of here," I said with a sight and got up. About ten feet later, I collided into someone and promptly fell on top of whoever it was. I closed my eyes, praying that it wasn't someone _too _bad.

"Rima?"

Oh shit. Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad!

"Sorry," I said weakly and pulled myself off of Senri. Of all the people to fall on it had to be him. Why did this world decide to hate me so much? What did I do? I ate my veggies every night as a little kid! I brushed my teeth every night! Why, why, why—

"No, um, I'm sorry. I just had a lot on my mind and wasn't paying attention so…" Senri trailed off and I picked up my stuff, careful not to meet his eyes.

Before I could reply, I heard a sob. Senri heard it too because he looked up at the same time I did.

"You wanna go check it out?" I asked and he nodded. Suddenly, a powerful wave of déjà vu hit me. It was just like the time we were younger and met Takuma together.

I shook past memories out of my head. This was different. And it was a girl. Scratch that. It was _Ruka_!

"Ruka?" I asked slowly. I'd never called her that before. Scratch that, too. I'd never really spoken to Ruka, but seeing tears pour down her cheeks caught me by surprise.

What do you two want?" Ruka demanded haughtily and I shot Senri an 'I told you so' look. He rolled his eyes.

"We heard crying," he said shortly.

"That doesn't mean I want help," Ruka said icily. I scowled.

"Well, if you insist," I said shrugging and made to get up but Senri pulled me down again.

"Just talk to us," he ordered and Ruka glared at him furiously. I had to give Senri credit for not cowering away. I almost did.

"It's not like you two actually give a damn!" Ruka snarled and I scowled. Before she could open her mouth again, I felt my temper snap.

"Listen up you stupid bitch! You aren't the only one who deals with a load of shit!" I snapped. "The world doesn't fucking revolve around you! I have my problems, Shiki has his problems and you don't see us bitching at the rest of the world, throwing fucking pity parties for ourselves!"

Only when I finished did my words actually comprehend in my mind. I bit my lip nervously. Ruka's eyes were wide and to my utmost shock, she began to speak.

"You really wanna know why?" she asked me emotionlessly. Her eyes were dull and that worried me slightly.

"Yes," I said flatly and watched in fascination as the girl took a deep breath.

"My parents are splitting up because my father cheated on my mother. And then _prom _is coming up and because I'm on the council, I have to make all these plans…and…and oh god, I'm so sick of myself," she whispered and her eyes bored themselves into mine. "You were right. I'm self-centered. But you wanna know something? Everywhere I go, you hear all these other kids talk about how we—me, Akatsuki and the others I mean—all live in this heaven they call perfection."

I listened raptly. It was true, of course. I remembered at the conversations people would whisper about the clique Ruka belonged in and how their lives must be 'heaven.'

"Yeah," I agreed sheepishly.

"Well, guess what," Ruka said, tears trickling down her angelic face. "The truth about heaven is that _there is no heaven! _Only this lie we live to keep up what people think we are."

Ruka got up and stared hard at me and Senri and I knew that her haughty side was about to pop up.

"If you tell anyone about this little talk we had, I will use all the power I can muster to make your lives hell," she added harshly and stalked away. I raised my eyebrow critically.

"Some people never change," I muttered.

"Thank you, Ruka-sama, for setting us on the true path!" Senri said suddenly, kneeling and clasping his hands together as if in prayer. I smiled wryly.

"I believe she said there is no heaven," I corrected him and Senri gave me a look.

"Well, duh," he snorted. "Now that we know there isn't a heaven, we're free to become anarchists!"

I couldn't help but laugh like crazy. Suddenly, the bell rang and I realized what I was doing and who I was with.

"It's been good," I said and scurried away to my next class.

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**SHIKI'S POV:**

I sighed as I watched Rima scurry away. Well, at least it was a start. I was so deep in my depression, I only just noticed two flashes of silver and blonde hair taking off from behind a bush. The way I saw it, both Aido and Zero had taken a weird interest in my personal life, or Ichijou and Ichiru were spying on me. I decided the latter was most likely and made a mental note to smash a vase over their heads if I ever got them alone. That hurt. I would know firsthand

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There you have it, chapter 6! Just so you know, I'm going to bring up that vase a lot and it will be important...eventually. And please, please, please, please **Review!**


	7. Poker Face

**Author's note: **Just so you all know, this chapter is going to have A LOT of shima in it =) and I'm on spring break so I can update faster!! Thanks to my reviewers!

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Vampire Knight….

**RimaTouyaXxSenrixX- **We live in a very strange world where authors can make characters do very strange things!

**kAtiE-lUvs-mcr-** I try to get people stuck in my plots…good to see that it works! And don't worry, you'll find out why Zero was disowned within the next two or three chapters because pretty soon I'm not gonna be able to keep the secret. I suck as secrets!

**Alice Johnson- **You like the humor? Yay! I laughed when I _wrote_ chapter three too.

**georgiasakura- **Yup, Shiki's getting somewhere at last! He'll figure it out eventually…emphasis on '_eventually_'

**SHUUREI814- **OMG I UPDATED!! And yeah…getting hit with a vase probably hurts, but then again, so does running into a pole.

**s2LaDolceVita- **Don't worry, the next few chapters will make up for the lack of Shima-ness!!

**hellopanda23- **Yes, as a matter of fact I DO have something big planned! I just have to set everything up so the big thing will make sense!

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**RIMA'S POV:**

After school, I made my decision. It was time. I took a deep breath. What I was about to do was dangerous for my baby, my mother and myself. But what choice did I have? My life was getting so hectic I had no choice. I was beginning to tremble in fear of what awaited this deadly decision: I was going to ask Takuma to baby sit Mikazuki.

Don't laugh, OK? This was serious shit I was diving into! What if he killed my baby? My mother would go into depression or something and so would I. I wouldn't put it past the idiot to find a way to kill Mikazuki without even trying. They call it being stupid, I think. I found the said blonde idiot and tapped on his shoulder. He turned around and smiled brilliantly.

"Hey Rima-chan!" he said cheerfully. "Can I help you?"

I swallowed and bite my lip. There was still time to go back…. No.

"I need you to baby sit Mikazuki every Saturday from ten in the morning to five in the evening," I blurted as quietly as I could. Takuma's bright green eyes widened and for a moment I wondered if he was going to refuse.

"A whole day with Mika-chan every week?" he exclaimed. "I wouldn't give that up for the world!" I swore I could see tears of joy forming in his eyes and I felt all color draining from my face.

"Yeah, pretty much," I said weakly. "I'm getting a once a week job and my mom refused to take care of her anymore than she has to so…."

"She's welcome any day," Takuma promised me. "Just bring her over. No one is ever home and even if they are, they won't say anything."

"Thanks," I said. Then I realized it was Friday.

"Bring her over tomorrow morning," Takuma said happily. I bit back a groan, only comforted by the fact that Mikazuki was frequently asking when 'Taku-oji-san' was going to be coming over to visit next. At least I had some good news for her.

"Great," I muttered. "She's going to like you more than me by her second birthday," I told her wryly.

"Maybe if you were as happy as me she'd like you better," Takuma suggested. I imagined myself with a stupid grin plastered to my face, skipping around and shuddered at the same time Takuma did. I guess he had the same vision as me.

"On second thought, maybe you should stay as you are," he said wincing. I nodded feverishly.

I left school with one more thing I didn't have before: a baby sitter.

"Rima."

I closed my eyes. Maybe I was so dehydrated that I wasn't seeing straight. Or maybe I was dead. Or maybe—

"Rima, if you keep your eyes closed while you walk you're going to run into a pole."

Nope. Senri was right behind me.

"I know my way home by heart," I told him waspishly. "I could make it home without—ouch!"

I opened my eyes to see what I collided into and oh lord help it me it was a fucking pole. I could hear him stifle a laugh as I rubbed my sore forehead.

"I can't believe you're laughing at me," I growled ferociously. To my irritation, Senri didn't seem intimidated at all. In fact it seemed to amuse him even more. I sighed deeply. How did it _always _end up like this?

"You're gonna need to get that bump check out," Senri said casually. I stared.

"Since when do you have a PhD in Medical shit?" I demanded and tried to stand, only to find out that Senri had a twin. Well, there was two of him so maybe…I groaned and almost collapsed again. Rolling his eyes again, Senri grabbed my arm and carefully guided me in a totally different direction. The whole way, we both kept our poker faces on and said nothing.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked slowly and Senri snorted.

"My house you idiot."

Fear coursed through my veins. This wasn't going to suit well with his mother, although seeing her face when Senri all but carried me through the front door would be highly entertaining. To make it all better, she couldn't tell me to get the fuck out because, well, then there would be a lot of explaining to do and her part to Senri…_who knows? This may work in my favor after all_, I hoped silently. Too soon, we were at his house and approaching the front door. As Senri pushed open the door and helped me inside, I had to bite my lip to stop the grin that was ready to explode across my face.

_Poker face, Rima! Poker face!_

"Senri you're home!" his mother cried joyously. "I was wondering why—" the older woman paused when she saw me. Thankfully, my face showed no emotion.

That day, I decided that it takes one hell of a lot of talent to keep a straight face when the person you hate more than anything in the world sees her beloved son helping you—who she hates with a passion—into their house. Hysterical I tell you! _Maybe I should run into poles more often_….

"Hello mother," Senri said pleasantly. "Rima ran into a pole and I'm going to take a good look at it."

I thought the devil in front of us was going to faint.

"Sure…" she whispered and walked away. Senri looked confused at her reaction.

"Don't even bother," I said with a sigh. Senri shrugged.

"You might want to call you mom. She worries about you a lot," he advised me and I nodded. I pulled out my phone and dialed my home number. To my relief, my mom picked up.

"Mom, it's me," I said tiredly.

"_Why aren't you home yet? Mikazuki is getting fidgety!"_

"I ran into a pole and I'm at Senri's house," I told her without emotion. The line was silent on the other end.

"_Be careful," _she said at last and disconnected. I sighed. Senri pulled me to the kitchen and pulled out a pack of ice. I gulped and prepared for the sting. When we were younger, I couldn't even count the times Senri brought me into the nurse's office at school because I'd fallen or run into something. It was so common that the nurse had eventually set up a bed with stuff to clean cut, a box of band aides and a cooler for ice packs next to it. I wasn't sure whether it was set up as a joke or a kind gesture. Or maybe she just got tired of having to clean up after me daily and made Senri do it instead.

I was pulled out of my memories by the familiar sting of an ice pack and ache of a bump being pressed on. I scowled.

"You don't have to press so hard," I grouched and Senri chuckled slightly.

"For someone who hates pain so much, you aren't very careful," he noted. "You never change, Rima." I glared at him with no effect.

"So you remember all the trips to the nurse's office," I gave in and Senri nodded, his silver-blue eyes twinkling with the light that most people didn't notice.

"But I always took good care of you," Senri said smugly and I tried not to laugh.

"If you took good care of me I wouldn't have ever needed to go there in the first place," I told him and he frowned.

"It's not my fault you're a klutz," he said playfully. I scowled again. _That _was something I couldn't deny.

My no-expression-face plan was failing. Most of my plans were failing most of these days, I noticed.

"There's only so much I can do with this, except advise you not to walk with your eyes closed anymore," Senri sighed only making me scowl even more.

"Maybe I was walking with my eyes closed for a reason," I said grumpily.

"Or maybe," Senri said quietly. "You're just being stubborn and can't admit defeat…as usual."

He said this as I was delicately building an expressionless mask, only to have it ruined by his comment.

"I can accept defeat," I spluttered indignantly.

"Obviously not since you just didn't," Senri said. I didn't follow.

"Huh?"

"You obviously can't admit you're wrong because when I called you stubborn, you objected," Senri elaborated.

I frowned. Why was he so much smarter than me all of a sudden? Did America make me stupid? Aw crap. He was right though.

"OK, fine! I'm stubborn and can't admit my flaws," I growled. "Are you happy?" Senri smiled.

"Very," he said, fighting a smirk. I let out a little grumble and struggled to get to my feet. It wasn't much easier, but at least the world wasn't spinning and I didn't feel like I'd downed a bunch of alcohol or something of the likes.

"I should get home," I said wearily and Senri nodded and looked at me thoughtfully.

"I'll help you," he said firmly. Saying no wasn't an option, that much was obvious.

"You don't have to," I told him and he snorted.

"What if you run into another pole? Or a trashcan? Or a mailbox?" he asked me teasingly. I scowled.

"Fine," I said crossly. I had a suspicion this was karma for smacking him over the head with a vase, even though my reasons were completely justified.

"I'm leaving mom," Senri called out and we walked out the door. I sighed deeply for what might've been the millionth time that day.

"I bet we could get you a handicapped thing," Senri told me and I glanced at him.

"Why?"

"Well, you're so clumsy you might as well be handicapped."

"SHUT UP!"

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**SHIKI'S POV:**

I was still feeling amused when I got home from walking Rima home. I'd forgotten how easy she was to make fun of. I pushed open the big door and before I could make my way up to my room upstairs, I was stopped by my mother. She looked me dead in the eye and without any emotion, ruined what was left of my day.

"I don't want you seeing her," she told me and I frowned.

"Why not?"

"She hurt you terribly and now she's back. What if she hurts you again?"

"Then I'll get over it."

"Don't speak to her again, Senri," the older woman commanded.

"No," I said flatly. My mother raised her hand and slapped me for the first time in ten years. The last time was when I was seven and told her that I wished I could live with Rima and her mother instead. That pissed her off pretty bad.

"You're more like your father than you know," she snapped furiously and walked away, leaving me absolutely stunned. I wondered what my absent father had to do with any of this. But I also knew that there was no point in asking except to get smacked again.

A knock on the door startled me out of my thinking. I opened it before one of the maids could and just barely managed to hide m surprise when I was Kuran Kaname outside my door, a solemn look on his face.

"Hello cousin," he said softly and I gazed back with the stoic façade I kept on for everyone, with the exception of Rima.

"What do you want?" I asked, forcing boredom into my voice. As usual, my cousin by my missing father's side of the family saw right through me.

"You mother called me for something," he told me and I moved to the side to let him in.

"Why?"

"Even if I knew I doubt I would tell you."

Ouch. That was pretty cold, even for him.

"I see. Well, she's upstairs in her room," I said and walked back to the kitchen. I never understood why, but Kaname radiated this weird sense of raw power that could make anyone crap themselves if they pissed him off. That's why I preferred to stay out of whatever he wanted, no matter where it was. Instead, I concentrated on Rima and what she was hiding from me.

Not much better, but whatever. I scowled. Upstairs I heard voices and wondered why until I remembered the kitchen was directly under the master bedroom. I couldn't hear much. Only fragments of sentences if even. They were more like words from some sort of puzzle with half the pieces missing.

"_Blackout…the baby…threatening….not her fault…yes but…Rido always said…I know…tell him…Senri should…"_

I closed my eyes and plugged my ears and the mention of my name and my father's in the same conversation. It wasn't that it scared me. All I knew was that if I heard anymore, when Kaname came down, my eyes would be filled with questions and he would know. And in my family, knowing something you shouldn't—even if you're part of it—is pretty much a crime. I'd already been slapped once today and had no desire to be hit again.

I humored myself by mentally pointing out that at least it was my mother, not Rima.

I jumped at the sound of hurried footsteps coming down the stairs. I hastily moved my hands away from my ears and grabbed the milk out of the fridge to make it look like I was actually doing something. Without a word of good bye, Kaname exited the house.

But that was how it was with everyone. The whole house suddenly seemed a whole lot colder. More than anyone, I needed to see Rima. I needed the warmth she gave me. I sighed, set the milk on the table and put my head in my hands. I needed her warmth, but I couldn't help but wonder what the price of taking it would be. I picked myself up and made my way to my room. I made sure I had no expression on my face, or as Rima loved to say 'kept my poker face in place.'

_Rima...._

Yes, the house was so much colder without her.

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Ha! I put in some raw Shima! Happy? Review!


	8. I Never Wanted To

**Author's note: **Yay to the people who reviewed! I love you all! You know what I realized? In every review I've gotten that involves Mikazuki, she's called Mika-chan. Literally. It amazes me that I failed to realize this before…heh heh…I have no clue why I put that in either, but, it's OK because I bet only a quarter of you read this part =)

And I don't own Vampire Knight....

**RimaTouyaXxSenrixX- **thanks! And Akatsuki as Mika-chan's father…that would be really…wow. That thought actually made me laugh!

**SHUUREI814- **I was hoping someone would think it was funny! And going to the office everyday…it does hurt…I would know -.-'

**georgisakura- **I almost feel bad for ruining Shiki's life. Emphasis on _almost. _I'm glad you like it though!

**shikixxrima- **It is my personal goal in life to confuse people with my plots so I'm very glad that you can't think of a solution…if you could, the whole purpose of the story would be ruined! But you remain confused so yay for you!

**kAtiE-lUvs-mcr- **more shima coming up! And everyone runs into a pole/tree at some point in their life ;)

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**RIMA'S POV:**

I was still sort of shaken from the previous day when I woke up at seven in the morning on Saturday. Running into poles does that to people. I got out of bed and stretched. I glanced at the mirror above my desk and saw that the bump on my head was barely visible. Oh well, I could deal. Besides, it's not like working at the nearest grocery store required a perfect face, or I never would've got the job in the first place. The thought amused me and I was still smiling slightly when I walked down stairs for breakfast.

"Are you read to go Mika-chan?" I began then clapped a hand to my mouth._ Oh crap_! Mikazuki's pet name was starting to grow on everyone even me. Damn Takuma to hell! It was 9:30 and I was going to have to drag her out of the house no matter what her state was. But to my surprise, my daughter came, holding my mother's hand, all ready to go.

My heart melted when I saw her in her bright blue dress with ducks printed all over and her hair tied like mine, only the ribbons that held it up were the same shade of blue as her dress. Her eyes were a replica of mine and that much I was thankful. The problem I had was her hair. It started out just like mine, but over time the shade was starting to get darker. I had no clue that we even possible_. _It made my heart pound and pray that he never saw her. Because then everything would be on the table and that would plain out be a pain the ass.

"Taku-oji-san!" she squealed and I sighed.

"I think she's starting to like him better than me," I said glumly and my mother laughed.

"You always like my brothers more than me," she pointed out and I frowned.

"Well, your brothers showered me with candy," I reminded her. "You gave me veggies." My mother laughed again and gently pushed my daughter over to me. Hand-in-hand, we walked out the door and I mentally prepared myself to hand over my daughter to Takuma.

When we got to the address he had told me, I didn't even have to knock on the door before it wad flung open, sending me onto the ground and Takuma scooped up Mikazuki in his arms and swung her around.

"I missed you so much, Mika-chan," he half-sobbed and I watched slightly disturbed and my daughter put her arms around his neck kindly.

"I missed you too, Taku-oji-san!" she chimed. Takuma grinned happily.

_That fucking pedophile! _I thought dangerously. My maternal instincts kicked in and I narrowed my eyes furiously.

"Bye bye Mommy!" Mikazuki said happily and waved from Takuma's arms. I was insulted to say the least.

"If I come here to find Mikazuki in any way damaged, I promise you, Ichijou Takuma, I will kill you in the slowest, more painful way I can think of," I said slowly. Mikazuki and Takuma stared at me, both looking a bit alarmed.

"Sure thing Rima," Takuma said quickly and backed away into the house. The last thing I heard before the door slammed shut was Takuma asking Mikazuki if her evil mother was feeding her properly.

_Why did I leave my daughter in the arms of that pedophile? _I asked myself as I picked myself up off the ground and continued on to my new work place.

When I walked in, I was greeted immediately by a slender girl.

"Are you Rima Touya?" she asked me softly and I nodded. "My name is Sara Shirabuki."

At the time, I didn't understand what, but something about this girl made me fear and respect her at the same time. She was graceful almost to the point where it seemed inhuman and her long, wavy hair framed a heart-shaped face. She seemed soft, but at the same time, the danger of a fierce predator hid underneath the surface, something that made me want to beg to be her slave and run away to another state and change my name so she couldn't find me at the same time.

"Hello," I said flatly. I was getting very good at the whole 'no-emotion' face.

"Come to the back room and we'll get you all situated," she said quietly and I forced back the shiver that threatened to take over me.

"Um…sure," I was my ultra-genius response and I followed her to the back, to get "situated."

"How old are you, Touya-san?" Sara asked me in her gentle voice.

"Seventeen," I told her, forcing my voice above a whisper. This girl definitely was doing something to mess me up. Sara sighed thoughtfully. She reminded me of someone…I just couldn't place my finger on it.

"Our age difference isn't so far then," she said, more to herself than me and I stared at her. How could someone with such a small age difference seem so old? Did that make _me _old? I mean, shit! Sure I was a mother and all, but I didn't want to be considered old at sixteen! What would that make my mother…? Prehistoric, probably.

"How old are you?" I countered.

"Eighteen."

Eighteen. A lot like—

"Kaname!" I gasped. That's who she was like. The same power than made you want to get on your knees and bow. I shivered.

"Ah," she sighed. "Kaname is indeed an old friend of mine, but our past is rather clouded." I blinked. The way she spoke and the words she used only added to her aura of...creepiness. I didn't even bother to remind myself that 'creepiness' probably isn't a word.

"If you know him then you must know Shiki," she added and I froze.

"You could say that," I said slowly. The look she gave me made me feel extremely pathetic. Was a seriously that easy to see through? _Well, that's what Senri said…._

Suddenly, Sara sent me a brilliant smile and I almost jumped back on instinct. Before you think I'm a super paranoid freak think about it this way: have you ever been in a conversation with a serial killer (or a pissed off bear because that's just as scary), only to have them turn around and smile at you? If yes, what did you do? If no—the more probable answer—what do you _think_ you would've done? I bet it doesn't sound so weird anymore. I skillfully did _not_ jump back and managed to only stare at her confusion.

"So _you're _the one," she said and made no other comment. I groaned inwardly and cursed myself for taking this goddamn job. Somehow, I could tell this day wasn't going to get any better, nor was Sara going to be any less scary to me.

_Shit._

**SHIMASHIMASHIMSHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMSHIMASHIMA**

**TAKUMA'S POV:**

Mika-chan had insisted on going to the park that was near my house and I whole heartedly agreed. Seriously, who would want to stay inside a house all day.

"Ice-cream!" the girl squealed and pointed to a large ice-cream car.

"You want ice-cream?" I asked her.

"Uh-huh! Please Taku-oji-san?" the small girl begged. I chuckled.

"Just don't tell your mom, alright?"

The orange haired girl put a finger to her lips and I smiled. I picked her up gently and walked towards the ice-cream truck. After I'd bought her ice-cream, a thought occurred to me. Rima had been gone a year and a half which was eighteen months. She had been two weeks pregnant, or so she had told me, which meant Mika-chan could only be nine months old because half that time was spent before the small girl was even born. I stared in wonder as she counted the ducks in the pond we were sitting by. She was beyond smarter than any child who was nine months old. It was absolutely impossible.

"Mika-chan, how old are you?" I asked her.

"Nine months," the girl said and proceeded to lick her ice-cream. This wasn't normal, no not at all. Unless she was a genius. A genius…I played with the thought of Rima's daughter being a genius. That was the only possible solution I could see and the kid was only _nine_! But even a genius nine month old shouldn't be able to do the things she could do.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples in frustration. But considering the parents, it wouldn't really surprise me if there was something medically messed up about the kid. In fact, I would've been worried if there wasn't.

"How long have you been able to talk?"

"A while," Mikazuki answered with a small frown. I bit my lip. I was definitely going to have to talk to Rima about this and I knew she wasn't going to like it at all.

"Ichijou-san?"

I jumped at the sound of Ichiru's voice. He looked at the kid appraisingly.

"Who is this?" he asked curiously.

"Mika-chan is my niece," I said quickly. It wasn't that much of a lie. She called me Taku-oji-san already.

"She looks a lot like Rima," the silver haired boy said, his purple eyes boring into mine. I winced.

"Well, that would be because…" I tried to find an excuse and realized I was just making things worse.

"You know mommy?" Mikazuki asked, her bright eyes widening. Well that killed it all.

"You can't tell anyone," I told him flatly.

"I won't," he promised. There was something in his facial expression that made me believe something about Mika-chan brought up something he didn't want to think about.

"Thank you," I said lamely. Ichiru laughed suddenly.

"I get it now" he said laughing and I understood immediately what he was saying.

"She plays a big part doesn't she," I sighed. Ichiru nodded.

"Growing up is going to be hard for her," he said as he sat down next to me.

"Most likely, although by the time she's ten, she'll probably have more understanding than her mother does now," I said dryly.

"What do you mean?"

"She's only nine months old and look at her. She can almost walk on her own and talk well enough to be understood. Plus, Mikazuki can obviously be left alone without her mother."

"Nine months?"

"Yeah," I said with a frown and I watched her orange pigtails jump a long with her as she stumbled after the ducks. OK, so Mika-chan couldn't walk _well _on her own, but she wasn't crawling.

"It makes sense, her parents being who they are of course," Ichiru pointed out.

"That's what I thought," I told him. "But I'm still going to talk to Rima about it."

"How do you think she's going to take it?" Ichiru asked curiously.

"I think I'm going to be coming to school looking like I was attacked by a mob," I said glumly and Ichiru snickered.

"Probably," he said and I gave him a dark look.

"Thanks for helping," I said sourly.

"Taku-oji-san, do we leave soon?" Mika-chan asked and she looked pretty tired.

"If you want, Mika-chan," I told her and the small girl nodded. I picked her up and she wrapped her arms around my neck.

"I'll see you at school…if Rima doesn't kill you," Ichiru said adding the end with a chuckle.

"Meanie," I grumbled and walked back home with the little genius in my arms. She ws pretty damn heavy, I noticed with a bit of amusement. Maybe I shouldn't feed her ice-cream next time, although saying no to that face was hard.

_Shit._

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**SHIKI'S POV:**

I scowled the whole way to Ichijou's house. I really didn't want to go, but he had my essay for 'some reason' which is probably what he would say so innocently when I walked in to see him erasing my name and writing his. It wouldn't be the first time.

As I got to the door I heard yelling and the sound of things breaking. It sounded like someone was trying to kill Ichijou. And I knew one person who _loved _using pottery as a deadly weapon.

"No she isn't!" I heard a familiar voice yell. "That's not possible!"

"Rima, I told you, it's not my fault she's unnaturally smart. Actually you should be happy."

"Why would I be _happy_?"

"Because if she's a genius, you can leave her alone all you want and she'd understand why!"

There was silence.

"I never wanted to, Takuma. Understand that. As much as I love her, it's so hard to keep up with all of this."

"I _know _you never wanted to and I know it isn't you fault, so I'm sorry I said that," Ichijou said tiredly.

"I'm sorry I broke seven of your china plates," Rima said.

"First off, you broke nine. The other two are behind the couch where you tossed them. Secondly, I don't really care. They were ugly anyway."

Rima chuckled.

"I remember when you brought them to school," she laughed. I could all but hear Ichijou glare at her.

"Yes, I remember. I remember how much trouble I got in when you and Senri stole three of them!" he growled.

I remembered the time, too. I knocked on the door. There was silence and then the sound of someone shuffling up stairs.

"Hello?" Ichijou called.

"It's me. I want my fucking paper back," I growled in return. Ichijou flung the door open and my jaw dropped at the sight I saw. Rima was sitting on the couch, looking like shit, Ichijou was sporting a beautiful black eye and the whole room was covered in shattered glass.

"What happened in here?" I asked bewilderedly.

"Rima happened here," Ichijou grumbled and Rima smirked.

"Yeah, she does have a problem with porcelain things," I noted and her smirk vanished. She frowned.

"Whatever," she growled and I almost laughed. I turned to Ichijou.

"I still want my paper back," I told him darkly.

"Oh, that…" Ichijou said sheepishly. He ran upstairs to his room and I heard him say something like 'good girl' and run back down. He handed me the paper with a dramatic sigh. I snatched it out of his hands and hugged it protectively.

"Takuma, you really gotta stop stealing peoples' shit," Rima said shaking her head. "You'll set a bad example."

"To who?" I asked.

"My nieces and nephews," Ichijou said evenly.

"You're an only child," I pointed out and he shrugged.

"You guys are like siblings to me," he said and I rolled my eyes.

"Sure," I said and left shaking my head.

But before I left, I could've sworn I saw a pair of eyes watching me from upstairs before vanishing. I blinked. Seeing things was a sign when you were going crazy.

_Shit._

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Yeah, I intentionally made the end of all the POVs the same word. REVIEW!!


	9. Under Pressure

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vampire Knight or any of its characters.

**temari obsesser- **well…I'm updating! Yay!

**SHUUREI814- **nope. I'm not telling you people who the daddy is yet!

**Sweetgingerbreadgirl- **I know I'm such a slow updater T.T –hits self over head multiple times with a random mop-. Bad author! Very bad author! But I'm updating now :3

**kAtiE-lUvs-mcr- **GLUE IS THE ENEMY OF ALL HUMAN KIND!! Maybe Shiki IS going crazy…0.o

**RimaTouyaXxSenrixX- **Yes, Sara is in this story. You asked me if Takuma could have her and I figured, _why the hell not_? :3 and she will totally be Takuma's counterpart. I think you're going to like this chapter…along with the next...and I'm updating! So please tell your mob of rabid reviews to not nicely hit me with a porcelain vase but a bunch of cookies are lovely XD (that part of the review made me laugh)

**shikixxrima- **Your review is easy to respond to:

FIRST: No one can deny that Takuma acts like a pedophile around Mika-chan so I figured I should put it in before someone pointed it out

SECOND: Yup, Sara Shirabuki was put in this story by request and I'm very glad I put her in because she's gonna be important in this story! Like REALLY important!!

THIRD: Uh…because 'shit' was my word for the day? No, I ended the first and third entries with the word shit and decided to put it in the second one too.

FOUR: I hope you're confused about the story, cuz if you weren't all the depressingly pathetic attempts at being mysterious would have gone to waste!

**xxdarkvampireangelxx- **You really want to read more? Here's more then!

**georgisakura- **Thank you, my ever faithful reviewer! I'm updating…even though it wasn't exactly 'soon'

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**RIMA'S POV:**

I stared at the ground as I made my way home from school. It takes raw talent—raw talent I tell you!—to now crack under the pressure of seeing the person you don't want to see everyday. I wondered what it'd be like if Senri know how heavy the weight he was accidentally putting on me was and how bad it was hurting me. All I knew was that I couldn't go home and face Mika-chan—wait! I mean Mikazuki.

"Under pressure," I murmured. "Just like before." I was crossing through the playground I played in as a child when I heard the sound of the rusty swings swinging. They were old and creaked under the slightest amount of pressure. Key word today, no? For some reason, I made my way to the swings.

_What if it's a serial killer?_

_That would suck._

_No kidding._

_But it would be pretty damn funny._

_Holy crap, I'm having a mental conversation with myself. WTF dude?_

_Stop it, Rima, you sound ridiculous. _

…_GET THE HELL OUTTA MY HEAD FREAK!_

I shivered and the mental argument ended abruptly.

"Rima?"

I looked up to see Sara on the swings, staring at me in surprise.

"Uh, hey," I said, searching for the words to start an intelligent conversation with her.

"What brings you here?" she asked me. I wondered if she saw how pathetic I seemed and took pity on me. Or maybe she just liked talking. Or maybe—

"I didn't feel like going home," I said lamely and sat by the empty swing next to Sara. "What's your reason for coming to the park?" Sara just shrugged.

"I was thinking about my life," she said softly. "I dropped out of high school you know."

"Why?"

"I got pregnant."

I almost choked on my own saliva. How? I'm not quite sure. All I know is that it hurt. And don't laugh because you probably choked on your own saliva also, but you're too cowardly to admit it!

"What happened to the baby?" I asked her, keeping the shivers out of my voice.

"I couldn't do it. So I had an abortion, but I couldn't go back to school," Sara told me. She put her face in her hands. "I moved here to escape my problems and haven't gone to any school since." I bit my lip nervously. Sara's honesty made me want to come clean with her and tell her the whole truth.

"I faced the same situation," I confessed and Sara looked at me surprised. "I got pregnant. I left. But I kept Mikazuki and came back a year and a half later."

Sara looked confused at my brief summary, so I told her every last detail, even the ones I'd left out for Takuma. I found it hard to believe that I was telling this girl I barely knew a secret that could destroy my whole life if she told anyone, but I was.

"That's horrible, Rima," Sara said quietly and I nodded.

"And now, I feel like—"

"You're cracking under pressure?" Sara asked with a wry smile. I nodded for the second time while wondering if Sara was reading my mind.

"I can't read minds, Rima," Sara said and I nodded, not quite realizing she had answered my silent question.

"I think you should come back to school," I said.

"What?"

"You can go back a grade, for the one you missed. You'll be in my class I think," I said encouragingly.

"I don't know…" Sara said uncertainly.

"It can't be too horrible. And I think I have a friend who would be able to cheer you up," I added, thinking of Takuma. Sara was silent for a moment and I was worried I'd been too straightforward. I had a tendency to do that so it wouldn't have surprised me.

"All I ever wanted was to travel the world," Sara said, just loudly enough for me to hear. "But when I got pregnant, my parents paid for the abortion—they were the ones who wanted it in the first place—then disowned me." My eyes widened. My mom never had that reaction when she found out I had a parasitic organism growing inside of me.

"I'm sorry," was all I could say. Sara kept going.

"So I stayed with my grandparents, and then came back here and now I live in a tiny apartment on my own. Not exactly the life you would imagine for the daughter of the head of a huge company—even though I'm not technically his child anymore," Sara said with a shaky laugh. I was amazed with how beautiful this girl could look, even though she was in so much emotional pain.

"At least you have a place to stay," I said, trying to cheer her up. Sara was quiet.

"I can't pay the rent with the salary I get so I'm getting kicked out," she muttered. I immediately thought of places she could stay, crossing the mental list out in my mind. My house was too small but there was always…no. Would she really be so desperate to suffer the pain of living with _him_? Maybe…_only one way to find out_.

"I have someone I want you to meet," I said and all but dragged her to Takuma's house.

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**SARA'S POV:**

I was unsure as to why I bothered Rima, a girl whom I barely knew, with my life troubles. But something about her sorrowful face told me she would understand. And so she did. When I explained to her about my living conditions, she frowned and lost herself in her thoughts. Suddenly, her eyes brightened.

"I have someone I want you to meet," Rima said and dragged me away. When we finally stopped, I was exhausted and we were in front of a large white house with the name Ichijou on the front. The name sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. Rima pounded on the door, making me jump.

"Oi, Takuma!" she shouted. "Open the door!"

"Ah, Rima-chan! Is Mika-chan with you?" someone asked as they swung open the door. And I found myself face to face with the most wonderful looking person I had ever met. His blonde hair glowed in the sun and his bright green eyes twinkled, making my heart beat faster.

"Sara this is Ichijou Takuma. Takuma this is this is Sara Shirabuki. She needs a place to stay," Rima said quickly and pushed me in through the door.

"Um, Rima, are you sure…" I stumbled, looking for a way to get myself out of this beautiful man's house. How could I live here? Not staring at him and drooling like a puppy for a full ten minutes would be a challenge and _staying _here would be impossible!

"Fine by me," said my new personal hell with a shrug. He smiled at me and I almost died of joy. "You can call me Takuma."

_Takuma. _I decided that was the synonym for both Heaven and Hell. The pressure was crushing me. But this was a new kind of pressure; not the kind that tortured me daily. This pressure was wonderful.

"Call me Sara," I said and was utterly shocked when my voiced sounded normal. _What's wrong with me?? _The last time I'd had butterflies in my stomach lead to destruction of what could've been life. I murdered a possible child, something that forever haunted me and after the abortion, I vowed to never do anything that involved love again. Takuma clapped his hands together happily.

"When are you moving in?" he asked me and I paused. Good question.

"Before I get evicted from my apartment," I said evasively.

"How does tomorrow sound?" he suggested and my jaw almost dropped. Too soon, but I wasn't ready to complain.

"That sounds great!" Rima exclaimed. I was amazed at her sudden excitement. The Rima I'd started to know was buried under troubles and pain. But maybe making other people feel the happiness she could not made her excited. Helping people brought her what happiness she needed. Rima seemed like a good friend to have.

"Thanks Ri—" I began, but a sharp knock on the door cut me off. Takuma jumped up and answered the door.

"Ichiru?" he asked looking completely bewildered.

"Nothing on Maria," a silver haired boy said sadly as he walked through the threshold. He spared me a glance then sunk back to his misery.

_Maria_. Now _that _was a name I knew.

"Maria Kurenai?" I asked timidly. The three looked up at me in such haste I almost fell backwards.

"Do you know where she is?" the silver haired boy asked urgently, his amethyst eyes burning bright. Wasn't Ichiru was his name?

"Well…" I mumbled and began my explanation.

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Semi-cliffy. Really short I know, but I felt the need to update since I'm going to be gone all weekend (which makes me feel bad). Review!!


	10. What Sarah Said

**Author's note: **holy hash browns! I haven't updated in FOREVER! I feel so bad –cries-. But guess what! April 28, 2009, WAS MY FOURTEENTH BIRTHDAY! So I'm gonna update as my (extremely) late-birthday present to you guys! I would've updated earlier, but my internet didn't work and I had the career poster project, and the science fair and…well, you get the picture. On the subject of this story, this chapter title is a pun of sorts of Sara's name because of the song 'What Sarah Said' by Death Cab For Cutie (DO NOT OWN). In case you haven't noticed, all my chapter titles have been the names of songs for a reason I'll explain in the end! On with the review replies then the story! And I don't own Vampire Knight –sighs miserably-

**temari obsesser-** as long as the story is addicting, I know you'll keep reading and I'm glad you love it! I try… :3

**kAtiE-lUvs-mcr- **I'm sorry for making you cry! And I know I'm evil…it's just a habit. Maybe things will get better for Sara…maybe not…. But probably XP

**xxdarkvampireangelxx- **a compliment and THREE smiley faces in one review! Holy hash browns I must be doing good!

**RimaTouyaXxSenrixX- **Yup. Aaaaaallllll weekend! Oh no, not the dreaded vase! I knew you'd love this chapter! Yay!

**georgisakura- **I think I have some crazy disease where everyone has to be paired with someone else…it's strange, but I can't help myself.

**shikixxrima- **I thought everyone was going to kill me for changing Sara's personality for a bit, but this review comforts me! What she did in chapter 49 was EVIL!! So I made her nicer XD

**aznurbangrl- **Secretive seems to have become my specialty with this fic -.-' thanks for all the reviews!

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**SARA'S POV:**

_**Really Short Flashback**_(I love these!)

_Walking home from work is always boring, with the exception of days when you see a girl covered in blood, darting down the street and colliding into you. I stare at the silver haired child who is on the ground next to me, panting like she's just run a ten mile marathon, which she probably has, judging by the look on her face. She grabs my arm and pulls me behind a dumpster. _

_"Don't speak," she whispers. "If they hear you, they'll kill you." By the amount of blood on her clothes and the marks of abuse on her body, I guess that she isn't exaggerating and remain silent. _

_Just when I'm starting to think this stranger is insane and needs some severe mental help, I hear a couple of voices. The girl tenses and I know these are the people she is running from. _

_"You lost her?" a woman hisses furiously._

_"She was too fast!" someone else says and I peek behind the dumpster to see a silver haired woman who greatly resembles the girl I'm sitting with glaring at someone else who is hidden from my view. _

_"Find her! Without her, everything is ruined!" the woman snaps and stalks away. The other mumbles something irritably under his breath and darts away in another direction. _

_After a few more minutes of absolute silence, the girl speaks._

_"They're gone," she says with a sigh of relief and looks at me. "I'm Maria Kurenai," she adds._

_"I…why are they looking for you?" I blurt before I can introduce myself. If this girl is a serial killer or something (you never know these days) I don't want her knowing my name. _

_"I'm not a serial killer," Maria assures me with a roll of her eyes. _

_"I'm Sara," I say and then realize she hasn't answered my question. _

_"It was nice to meet you Sara," says Maria and then she takes off again. As I am about to leave I hear a scream. It's Maria. I watch as the woman I saw before grabs Maria and covers her mouth. _

_"Don't run away Maria," the woman says sweetly._

_"Please, Shizuka…leave them be," Maria murmurs and Shizuka laughs in a light but dangerous way._

"_I can't do that," she says and black car pulls up. Maria's body slumps in defeat and she puts up no struggle when the woman takes her to the car. The car drives away quickly and I remain still, completely dumbstruck. _

_**End Really Short Flashback**_

"That was a week ago. I looked for her, hoping she got away again, but I haven't seen or heard of her since," I said.

"So you watched Shizuka drag away Maria?" Ichiru asked in slight disbelief.

"It was too sudden. I had no idea what was happening," I told him sadly. "But I wish I had done something…anything."

Ichiru shook his head regretfully.

"No. It's probably better that you didn't do anything. You would've been killed on the spot or taken away and...well, lets just say things would've ended up ten times worse," he said darkly.

My eyes widened. Maria seemed to be in some serious trouble. I couldn't help but blame myself so I stared at the ground as if the carpet seemed like the most interesting thing I'd ever seen.

"Oi, Ichijou," someone said opening the door roughly without knocking.

_Is Takuma always this popular_? I wondered to myself. Probably.

"Shiki! Don't come barging into my house like you own the place! It's my house!" Takuma whined and the person entering rolled his eyes.

Beside me, Rima tensed like a slinky about to be pushed down a set of stairs. _Do_ slinkies get tense?

"Well, shit," I heard her mutter quietly. But not quietly enough.

"Hey, Rima," Shiki said casually and then it hit me. This was Rima's issue.

"Well, shit,' I accidentally said out loud and everyone stared at me. I blushed lightly. "I, ah, forgot my…um…I forgot to feed my goldfish!" It wasn't a lie.

"You have a goldfish, too?" cried Takuma childishly. I nodded, completely forgetting the seriousness of the situation at hand. _Is this what love does to you…?_

"You better keep a good watch on it," Rima said darkly. "That idiot tried to eat mine."

"We were kids!" Takuma objected.

"Raw goldfish is just like eating sushi," I pointed out. "I, ah, ate one also." Takuma grinned, leaped over and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer.

"Take _that, _Rima-chan!" he said with a grin and I could feel my face heating up. Rima smirked at my face and a very bad feeling began to grow in my belly.

"Oh believe me, Takuma, I _will,"_ she said threateningly and both Takuma and I paled.

"You guys are so white you could be vampires," Shiki put in, his expression torn between one of amusement and worry. Suddenly there was a cough from Ichiru and we were all brought back to the present, save Shiki who seemed absolutely bewildered by everyone's grave expressions.

"Oh, you have no idea what's going on," Ichiru mumbled and looked at me as if telling me to repeat my story. And with a miserable sigh or regret, I complied.

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**RIMA'S POV:**

Maybe it wasn't that funny that there was a visible spark between Takuma and Sara. Maybe it was fucking hysterical. But it was a pretty bad moment to make fun of them, so I controlled myself as Sara filled in Senri on the whole Maria thing.

_Why is he here anyway? _I asked myself. _Oh, shit! Please no! Please don't respond!_

_I'm always here to respond to your stupid questions._

_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!_

I didn't realize I'd spoken—although screamed would be more appropriate—until I fully comprehended everyone's bewildered stares.

"Are you alright, Rima?" Sara asked uncertainly and I nodded faintly.

"Just…a little…um…food poisoning," I said lamely, only to receive four incredulous stares.

"Ichijou, have you been cooking lately?" growled Shiki and I snorted.

"I'm not dumb enough to eat _his _cooking, or yours," I said scathingly and Senri rolled his eyes at my remark. Only because he knew it was true.

"Do you cook horribly, Takuma?" Sara asked the owner of my new house. As she spoke, a flash of shock skittered across her face and I realized that Sara probably hadn't had a home to call her own for a while now, and now that she did, the words must've felt foreign to her tongue.

"Are you worried?" he responded.

"No. I can cook," Sara said casually.

"So I can stop eating microwave dinners?" Takuma asked hopefully and Senri rolled his eyes for the third time that day—_why am I keeping count? Crap, don't answer that!_

"I guess so," Sara said uncertainly.

"Ichiru's gone you guys," Senri said blankly and everyone tensed. We all knew where he was going and it wasn't to a birthday party.

"I shouldn't have told you guys," Sara grumbled.

"Where's he going?" asked Takuma. OK, maybe not _all _of us knew where Ichiru was going, but Takuma is an idiot so no one was actually surprised.

"He's looking for Maria," the rest of us groaned at the same time.

_Probably because of what Sara said._

_GET OUT OF MY HEAD!_

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So short...but I'm being dragged off the computer by my hair T.T...sort of. Again, sorry for the REALLY late update…but you all know you love me—more like this fic to be honest—you still wanna review XP


	11. Broken Heart

**Author's note: …**five reviews. Five reviews. Five reviews in less than ONE NIGHT! And they were all so kind! –cries a storm of tears of joy- And I felt so bad for not updating for such a long time that I began working on this chapter ASAP. I love you all!! Thanks for not attacking me in fire-lit pocky boxes in an enraged mob! Oh and I'm updating more slowly because there's a science fair coming up and I really needed to finish my project. And I'm graduating from the eight grade and I need to raise my grades which means I actually have to do my homework instead of "losing" it -.-'

I should stop rambling….

**Disclaimer: **Vampire Knight? Mine? Nope. Not a chance.

**kAtiE-lUvs-mcr- **I promise that this chapter will be a lot longer than the previous one! Really! I swear!

**shikixxrima- **most people have the same opinion of this Sara as you do. It makes me glad. And maybe it's Shiki creeping around Rima's mind/thoughts. Or maybe Rima is just as crazy as Shiki…

**aznurbangrl**- thank you for saying that it's "extremely short but super duper awesome" because that means it isn't hated like I thought it would be ten minutes after I updated it! Yay for lack of hate!

**Anon42- **Nah, they aren't vampires. And I'm glad you like my fanfics, though!! :3 And, yes, Ichijou is very cute.

**georgisakura- **I'm really happy I updated! I missed reviews! And having couples scattered all over the place is such a wonderful thing…even though it's hard to keep track of.

**xxdarkvampireangelxx- **Thank you! Three smiley faces and in capital letters! It must be pretty good for all that :3

**temari obsesser- **You loved it? You loved it? You really, really loved it? And another review in all capital letters! I'm so happy I can completely forget that I just ran the pacer at school! Yay! And here's my update!

**SHUUREI814- **The whole thing about Takuma eating the goldfish was based on something my mom did when she was about three. I asked her what gold fish tasted like and the response she gave me was "it tasted like sea food. If you want to be specific, then you can take ours and try it yourself." I opted not to. Is that a good answer?

Anyway, on with chapter eleven!

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**SHIKI'S POV (I haven't written from his POV for a while now…):**

"He wouldn't do something that stupid without telling Zero," Ichijou said suddenly.

"And you know this how exactly?" I asked critically.

"The two of us share a certain _bond_," he said airily and I kicked his leg. Hard. I watched as he grabbed the Sara girl and cried on her shoulder. The poor girl looked traumatized and I almost regretted putting as much force into the kick as I did. But since I only _almost _regretted it, I felt no sympathy at all.

"Why would he tell Zero?" I growled. "They hate each other!"

"But Maria concerns both of them, and Ichiru did want Zero's help in finding her," Ichijou pointed out and suddenly I remembered him talking about Zero being sent away and all that. For the first time in a while I actually was irritated with my crappy-ass memory span.

"So why aren't we on our way to find Zero?" asked Sara.

"We don't know where he lives," Rima and I explained at the same time. We exchanged a puzzled look before Rima stared at the carpet.

"I'm sorry to say this, but the two are a lot dumber than you seem," Sara said critically. We all stared at her and the normally shy girl didn't even flinch.

"What are you talking about?" Rima demanded and Sara rolled her eyes.

"This is where something called the internet comes into play," she explained and then it hit me: it's quite possible to find basically anything on the internet.

"A map, but an address?" Rima put in and Sara smiled brilliantly.

"I can get that address in half an hour tops," she promised. Rima eyed her.

"You're on," she declared and Ichijou and I exchanged a look that said quite obviously, '_just what the hell happened a second ago?'_

We didn't get much of an answer.

"Do you have a computer?" Sara asked sweetly. Ichijou nodded fearfully and Sara jumped up like a five-year-old on a sugar high.

"Show me your skills then," Rima challenged. I wondered how these two had managed to forget that Ichiru was in a very dangerous position and time wasn't exactly on our side. The possibility that it's just a girl thing ran through my head. It seems most probably so I stuck with that and stopped thinking about it. Ichijou ran upstairs to get his laptop and ran back down again in record time. Sara snatched the object out of his hands and began to type quickly. Twenty minutes later, we were on our way to the Chairman's house where Zero had taken up residence for the past years. Rima had continuously pestered Sara about her hacking skills and Sara had kept her mouth shut; only explaining that hacking comes in handy in unfortunate situations.

"Here it is," Sara said. I turned to see we'd reach a pleasant looking house with a huge window with a good view.

"We're in time," Ichijou says with a sigh of relief. Peeking through the window, I saw the Kiryuu twins talking urgently about something. The subject wasn't hard to guess.

"I wonder what they're talking about," Ichijou wondered aloud and the rest if us stared. Rephrased: the subject wasn't hard to guess unless you're Ichijou Takuma.

"Why're we here, Takuma?" Sara began as though speaking to a young child.

"To save Ichiru."

"Why?"

"He knows where Maria is and—oh my! You guys! I figured out what Zero and Ichiru are talking about!" Ichijou shouted and I wondered if there was a legal limit to being stupid. Obviously not.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" a cheerful voice called out. We turned to see a skipping Yuuki, her short brown hair bouncing with every leap she took. Her voice was annoying…not that I'd ever let Zero hear that come from my mouth. I enjoy life to an extent.

"Yeah, why the hell are you people here?" Zero asked suspiciously coming out of the house, followed by a guilty looking Ichiru.

"We came to stop Ichiru from getting himself killed," Ichijou said and I kicked him. Hard. To make it all the more painful, Rima kicked him the same time I did and the three of us toppled over, Ichijou bouncing about three feet away somehow. I can proudly say that I cushioned Rima's fall and had the bruises to prove it.

"Jesus, Rima you aren't half as light as you used to be," I grumbled and she glared at me.

"As interesting as this is, I think you guys might care to know that Ichiru just left—again," Sara cut in and the rest of us groaned.

"So our trip here was all for nothing?" Ichijou demanded and Sara shrugged.

"Not if we go after him," she said and I scowled.

"Why can't the fucking car just run out of gas, have the tire pop and…well, you know, not work! Then we would have to—" Rima began to rant furiously only to be cut off by a screeching sound and a pop. We all stared at her as if she had been the cause of it.

"I didn't do it!" she said defensively. We made our way to where the sound had come from to see Ichiru in Zero's now not-working car with the tire popped.

"It's out of gas!" he exclaimed.

"And the tire popped," Ichijou said biting his lip trying not to look amused. Let me tell you, he failed.

"That's impressive," I noted and Ichiru got out of the car slowly.

"Where were you even planning on going?" asked Zero tiredly.

"Where they're keeping Maria. Duh," Ichiru snorted.

"And do you have any sort of clue to where that is?" asked Yuuki politely. Ichiru was quiet for a minute then he had an epiphany. At least that's what it looked like to me.

"Now I do," he said with a twisted almost-smile. Zero looked confused and then the same thought seemed to strike him. Maybe it' a twin thing....

"Don't you dare Ichiru!" he shouted, but Ichiru ran off to wherever he thought Maria was. Zero took a deep breath. Then he turned to us, his purple eyes looking slightly annoyed.

"I'm going after him. I have some loose ties that I need to take care of anyway and it's now or never," Zero said firmly. "You four and Yuuki are all going to _stay here, _because anything else you guys do from here that involves us is going to get someone hurt or maybe even killed."

"But Zero—" Yuuki protested, but Zero just shook his head.

"No," he said and took off after his twin brother. Yuuki stared after him for a minute before nodding to herself.

"I'm going to follow Zero. I don't want him getting hurt," she said and ran.

"That happened so fast," Sara murmured.

"He's right though," sighed Ichijou. "At this point, it's all up to Zero and Ichiru."

And it was true.

"Let's go," I said wearily and Sara paused.

"I need to go to my apartment and get my box of things if I'm going to be leaving," she said softly. Ichijou nodded.

"I'll go with you," he said with his trademark, idiotic smile and extended his arm for her to take. I rolled my eyes as she took it uncertainly and the two walked away.

"As if Ichijou wasn't so into playing Cupid already," I grumbled. "If he gets a girl himself, it's going to become his newest hobby.

"Whatever," Rima said and walked away. I caught up with her when I remembered we were walking in the same direction.

"I'm going to make sure you don't walk into any poles," I explained to her bewildered stare. She glared and I could tell I'd be seriously screwed over if she got a hold of a porcelain dish.

**SHIMASHIMSHIMSHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMSHIMASHIMASHIMSHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASHIMASIMASHIMASHIMASHIMA**

**RIMA'S POV: **

Sometimes I just had to wondering if life was intentionally brutal to me. Only sometimes. Like when my phone rang. You see, my wonderful phone had a button on the outside that I frequently pressed on accident when opening my phone **(A/N: just like mine! What a coincidence…or not)**.

"Yeah?" I asked boredly when I saw it was my mom. Or so I thought.

"_Mommy! Mommy! When are you coming home! Grandma says you gotta hurry or you'll miss dinner! Are you with Taku-oji-san?" _The voice of the one person I'd never wanted to hear most screeched on the other line and I wished to hell and back that my child wasn't so damn smart she could talk at her age. I also cursed whoever came up with the idea of a speakerphone to hell.

"Uh…wrong number?" I said weakly into the phone. I always sucked at lying.

"_Rima! Your daughter is waiting for you! Hurry up!" _my own mother said impatiently as she took the phone way from Mika-chan.

"You called at one damn hell of a bad time," I grumbled. She understood what I meant. I could practically see her grimace as she put two and two together.

"_I see. Get home soon," _she said unsympathetically and hung up on me.

"What a great mother," I said sarcastically and kept walking, Having no desire to find out my old friend's reaction at that conversation.

"Daughter?" he repeated before I could get away fast enough. I winced and felt my temper rise for no reason at all. Just because he knew about her being my daughter didn't mean he deserved to know anything else. I turned around slowly, feeling my self-restraint lessen more and more.

"Yes. Mikazuki. My daughter," I said shortly.

"Hm. Anything you want to tell me, Rima?" Senri asked with his eyes shut. I knew what it meant. He was completely pissed and that meant that _'it' _was coming soon and I needed to get away fast. I also knew that getting close to him again was not an option for me. If I was going to cut all ties with him, now was the time.

"Nothing you deserve to know," I said icily. "But here's something you should do: go ask your lying bitch of a mother what you really are."

There. I was breaking both our hearts, I knew, but my last words were going to hit home and unless he'd changed drastically, nothing was going to stop Senri from getting to the truth.

"What do you—"

"I mean exactly what I said" I said sharply and left, taking my broken heart with me.

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Awwwww. I feel kinda sad after writing that…I need to go write something funny now…. On the bright side, the next few chapters will pretty much answer every question I've set up. Review!


	12. All That I Have

**Author's note: **I haven't updated in forever!! I feel awful!! My only excuse is that every time I tried to write this chapter, I would get halfway and then realize just how much I hated it and have to start over again. I'm so so so so so so so so sorryyyy!! I'll try to make up for it by the end of the summer…anyway, I thought I'd be able to update quicker because it was summer, but as it turns out, I'm busier in the summer than any other time of the year…that's sad. Anyway, here is my update at long, long last!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vampire Knight. I didn't even get it for a graduation present like I was hoping for.

**kAtiE-lUvs-mcr- **if you didn't love it, all my efforts would've gone to waste. Yay! I did my homework! I just updated! I wonder if you'll love this one too…-prays-

**Rimacchi Kuran- **My story is getting better! Yay! I find most of my stories get worse so you saying that this one is getting better is a good omen. And doesn't everyone want to know what happens to Rima? I do.

**temari obsesser- **if it were up to me, Takuma would always be stupid because he's just so adorable that way. So I try. Sara will even him out…I hope.

**georgisakura- **Ah, don't remind me of what a slow updater I am! It depresses me XD…sorta. You don't think it's sad? Good. Because I really don't want a review with someone yelling at me because they cried to hard they wasted a whole box of tissues. Not that they would…I don't think.

**FrozenDragon**- every chapter? Yay!! And I hate cliffhangers, too. So why do I put them at the end of all of my chapters?

**PinakaFaltizan**- NOOOOOOO!! I FORGOT AN 'S'!! Please take note that wasn't sarcasm. I'm sorry…I'll try to update a lot over the summer. I'll also probably fail.

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**ZERO'S POV:**

_Run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run I am going to murder Ichiru when I get hold of him for making run all this way to save his sorry ass!!_

Of all the ridiculous things Ichiru could have ever done in all of his life, why did he decide to go headfirst into the most obvious trap? He was smarter than this, I knew. Or maybe he wasn't. Maybe he just got dumber when I was away. That wouldn't be very surprising.

Just when I thought I thought I'd lost him, I saw a silver flash of hair. I sped up, something I wouldn't have thought possible and almost stopped when I saw the back of his head. I touched my own hair.

"If that's what my hair really looks like I should probably cut it," I muttered thoughtfully and then realized just how pathetic I sounded. I continued running until I was close enough to catch up to him. I grabbed and caught a chunk of his hair and tugged, scoring a loud yelp from him. I would've felt bad if I hadn't been so tired and pissed that I'd just run who knows how many blocks and wanted just to collapse.

"We're so close," Ichiru gasped and I hit him over the head furiously.

"Damn it all, Ichiru!" I snapped and paused. I turned around at the sound of little footsteps but saw no one so I switched my attention back to my brother. Who, as I realized, was no longer on the ground. He had jumped up and started running. I let out a long stream of profanities and took off again. I was absolutely horrified at the thought of running another marathon after my idiotic brother, but what I saw next made me wish we were running all the way to the next state: we had reached a warehouse.

"Please tell me we aren't going in there," I growled and Ichiru turned around, a deep fire burning in his purple eyes, annoyingly identical to mine.

"Maria is in here, Zero," Ichiru said bleakly.

"You could be wrong," I pointed out, highly doubting that he was.

"This is _her_ sort of place, Zero. You know that just as well as me," Ichiru said quietly. In a single moment I thought of a million things. Almost. I thought of growing up with Maria. I thought about Ichiru's trouble with the Madly Blooming Princess and how I'd suffered so much for it. I thought about how messed up it was that Ichiru was wasting time here arguing with me when Maria, the only person he would care about as much as he did, was in danger. I thought of some other things like how good tofu is with chicken, but that's irrelevant.

"Alright, but we snag Maria and get the hell outta there, got it?" I growled irritably.

"Got it," Ichiru said and suddenly, we were seven again, playing the game where we were saving Maria from the monsters, only this time the monster was real and had no problem killing us. No problem at all.

We walked around the building and found a broken window that was hidden on the inside by crates. I pointed, not knowing how much sound would make its way into the building. Ichiru nodded, having the same train of thought as me. I pushed him up and when he was in, he pulled me up through the window. I winced when a sharp piece of glass that was sticking out sliced through my arm, but I said nothing and Ichiru didn't notice.

"Hello, boys. Long time no see," Shizuka Hiou said quietly from behind us. We both jumped and whipped around to see the monster standing with a pistol pointed in front of Maria who was sitting in a chair with her head down.

"Are you okay, Maria?" asked Ichiru, completely ignoring the woman he used to serve under. When he decided he wanted out, she wouldn't let go, so I stepped into his place and then got sent away. Long story short, anyway. Maria sniffled and nodded.

"I missed you, Ichiru," Shizuka crooned. "And you also, Zero." I shuddered at her voice. It reminded me of everything that I'd tried to forget.

"Please let Maria go, she's all that I have," Ichiru all but begged. That was a double loser statement. Not only was he begging pathetically, he also forgot that he had me.

Oh wait no. He didn't have me. She _was_ all that he had…what a sad thought. Still, what he said sounded wrong so I took the liberty to fix it.

"Just let Maria go and we'll all get the fuck out of each other's lives," I corrected. Shizuka took two steps closer to me and I flinched. She laughed quietly and pointed her small gun at me.

"I always liked your brother better," she said quietly. "So I think I'll kill you first."

I figured I was going to go down that way. It was just something I'd come to accept. I silently prayed Ichiru would be smart enough to take the chance to grab the girl and split, but considering he was trying to place the role of the noble idiot, I didn't get my hopes up.

"Zero!" the last voice I wanted to hear at the moment yelled and the speaker jumped in front of me right as Shizuka pulled the trigger.

I caught the small fallen body and took one glance at the brown mop of hair before I felt my heart stop.

"Idiot," I whispered. Then I hear another gun shot and a cry. I glanced up to see Shizuka fall and saw Maria shaking, holding a small gun. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and she suddenly sank to her knees.

"I'm sorry," she said softly and I wasn't sure who she was talking to. Ichiru walked over to her and pulled her up.

"Let's go," Ichiru said hastily. "We need to get out of here before we run into any other old friends. Does Yuuki have her phone?"

Then it triggered in my mind that Yuuki had followed me, ran in from the front and jumped in front of me. She was also bleeding. Needed medical help…crap.

"Hurry," I said and the four of us made our way out of the warehouse as fast as we could. Ichiru reached into Yuuki's jacket pocket and sure enough, she had her phone. He flipped it open and called for an ambulence. After that, everything was faint except the blood. She was all that I had, too. I was hurting everywhere and I finally understood why Ichiru came all the way here just to find Maria.

**SHIKI'S POV:**

Rima had a baby. A baby. A baby. Questions swirled around my mind, making it hard to walk. But maybe she wanted the kid. I didn't think so. But with _who? _**(A/N: Yeah well everyone else is asking that, too :3 so you can wait)**

_Ichijou? No way. She left because she got pregnant and I doubt she'd be kicking it with him now if it was him…so that just leaves…every other male on the planet. Other than me. Because I think I would _know _if I got Rima pregnant because there is only one way to get her pregnant and that never ever happened between us. _

The more I thought about it, the more I thought about the blackouts. And the more I thought about the blackouts, the more I needed to know what they were. But who would tell me? Rima I could try, but I wasn't quite sure if she was planning on ever talking to me again.

_Speaking of which, why is Rima so pissed at me? It's not like it's _my _fault. _

I groaned when I realized I was giving myself one bitch of a headache.

"You."

"Good seeing you, too, Kaname," I said dryly and turned to face my cousin who was looking at me with a frustrated expression on his face.

"I have something for you and Touya," he said.

"And it's not even Christmas," I muttered, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I'm doing you a big favor doing this," Kaname growled. "You should be glad I hid these from your mother so she didn't burn them to—"

"My mother?" I asked and Kaname was quiet. He pulled two envelopes from his pocket and handed them to me.

"They're from your grandfather," he said simply before walking away quickly. I looked at the letters and saw one was for me and the other had Rima's name on the back. I ripped mine open and read it, my heart beating faster and faster with every word.

_Dear Senri,_

_I would like to hide these letters from your mother so she doesn't burn them for what I am trying to tell you, but I can only hope there is someone to stop her._

_I don't know if you remember this day, but it is the same day I watched you and little Rima give your hearts to each other. Do you remember? I think you do. _

_You may not know this yet, but I you and Rima have a happy future together. When have I ever been wrong? Never. But love has its ups and downs,_

_so be ready to suffer for her. You love her and I hope you will someday realize this. She is all you have so don't hurt her. _

_You need to know the truth. Your mother will never tell you by her own will, but you need to keep fighting for this for the safety of both you and Rima. Find the _

_truth, Senri, no matter what it takes. There is one more thing you need to know:_

_You have inherited everything. My house, my money, everything belongs to you. Take was is rightfully yours. _

_Also, please give Rima her letter. Thank you. _

_Good luck,_

_Grandfather._

I stared at the paper in my hands, soaking in everything. Gramps was way too smart for his own good. Everything was mine? That's not what my mother told me. She said it was her's but—

_But I never saw his will. No one did. No one ever found it. _

"Great," I grumbled. "Now I need to talk to Rima, find out some crazy truth about myself and find a missing will that might not even exist." What first?

Rima. Then my phone rang. I scowled when I saw who it was.

"What the hell do you want, Ichijou?"

"_You mean you don't know?"_

"Um, no. What should I know?" I asked completely bewildered.

"_Alright so Ichiru called me and I told Sara who is calling Rima and I decided to call you—" _he rambled.

"Damn it all, just tell me!" I snapped.

"_They found Maria, but Yuuki got shot and now she's in the hospital," _Ichijou said in a single breath.

"Are you serious?"

"_Yeah. Why would I kid?" _

"Because you're an idiot," I replied.

"_Me and Sara are going to pick up Zero and Ichiru from the hospital."_

Then I realized just how bad I didn't want to go home.

"Can I go with you?" I asked, desperate for some excuse not to go home.

_"If you can run to my house in less than ten minutes," _Ichijou bargained.

"I can do that," I said and took off.

**SARA'S POV:**

I didn't really know who Yuuki was, but she seemed very important and she was in the hospital so I had to fight the urge to cry.

"Let's go," Takuma said quietly and we made our way to his car just as Shiki came running up to the house.

"I made it," he gasped.

"Why are you coming?" I asked slightly surprised.

"I didn't want to go home," Shiki said in a tone that hinted he had no intention on saying why.

I shrugged.

"Let's go," Takuma said and we all got in the car.

"So what happened exactly?" asked Shiki.

"No idea," Takuma and I replied at the same time.

We kept driving but then Shiki let out a yell.

"Hold it!" he shouted and Takuma stopped. Luckily the street was empty. Shiki jumped out.

"Sorry guys I gotta go, but tell Ichiru and Zero congratulations!" he yelled and ran away.

"What the hell?" I asked no one in particular.

"Poor boy always gets his words confused when he has a lot on his mind," Takuma explained and started the car again.

"So does everyone," I said thoughtfully.

"Once a grandma came out of surgery and I went to visit her and brought a balloon that said 'good luck' when everyone else's said 'get well soon,'" Takuma said and I snorted.

"That doesn't surprise me," I said lightly. "But I wonder what's wrong with Shiki."

"We'll find out eventually," Takuma said. I wondered if we wanted to.

**RIMA'S POV:**

"Hey Rima," someone called out to me as I made my all-too-slow way home.

"What?" I growled, not at all in the mood to talk to the speaker.

"I have something to give you. It's from my grandfather," Senri added the last part because he knew that I had a soft spot for his grandpa who was always so much nicer to me than the bitch Senri called mother.

"I don't want to talk to you," I told him and refused to look him in the eye. I knew what I was doing could trigger something bad but at the moment I almost wanted it to so I would have a justified reason to beat the living shit out of him.

"Just take the damn letter," Senri said and pushed the letter into my hands.

"Fine," I said crossly, but didn't open it. I watched him carefully, most importantly, I watched his eyes.

"What's the secret, Rima?" he asked me suddenly.

"What?"

"The secret. My letter said that there was some truth about me that I needed to know. What is it?" he pressed and I bit my lip. I couldn't tell him. He already knew about Mikazuki and that was bad enough. If I told him about everything, I could lose Mikazuki and I didn't want him knowing anything more than what he already knew.

"I—no," I said smartly.

"I deserve to know," he said sharply.

I glared at him. No, he really didn't deserve to know anything, I thought, even though he probably did.

"If you really want to know, then ask mother dearest and see if she'll actually tell you something that had even a little bit of truth in it," I said venomously, thinking of everything that stupid bitch's lies had done to ruin my whole life.

"Ask my—what?" Senri asked looking confused. It almost made me feel bad. But I decided that if he wanted to know, he could make her suffer just like I was suffering.

I walked away without responding and he didn't call me back.

When I was home, I walked through the door calling out: "Mikazuki, come out, come out, wherever you are."

Then I heard the hysterical sobs coming from the living room. I darted in to see my mother by the little cradle, sobbing her eyes out.

"What's wrong?" I asked, never having felt so scared in all of my life. My mother looked up at me sorrowfully.

"They came, Rima. They came in and grabbed her from my arms before I could do anything to stop them. Mikazuki…she's gone."

Never had any words hurt so bad. I stumbled over to the cradle, hoping this was just a sick joke, or an awful dream from which I was going to wake up and Mika-chan—my sweet baby—was going to be there, smiling and saying 'Mama, mama' until I came over and held her. But she was truly gone.

Senri's mother hadn't lied for once in her miserable life. It was no mystery who 'they' were. She was all that I had. And now I didn't even have her.

"My baby," I muttered and collapsed in defeat for the part of me that was gone forever, because I knew there was no way I was going to see my daughter again.

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Yay! I finally updated! In general, I really don't like Kaname or Yuuki so I decided to make them useful! They both did very important things for this story so they deserve a round of applause. Ya know, this chapter wasn't much happier than the one before it. I should really write some happy stuff next time, although I don't think I will because that would just ruin everything. I promise you guys right now that I will update in between July 16 and July 20 because until then I'm going to be very busy. You can still review though and remind me.


	13. Buried A Lie

**Author's note: **I'm about 20 reviews way from 100! This is the most reviews per chapter I've gotten from this story and the most reviews I've ever gotten from a story!! Thank you all!! And because you have all waited oh-so patiently, I think I'll let the cat out of the bag in this chapter meaning (dun, dun, dun) EVERYTHING WILL BE REVEALED!! [Insert fan girl squeal here] I can't help but find it a little funny that no one commented on my lateness in reviews…instead a few of you yelled at me for taking away Mika-chan. I did feel kinda bad actually, but…anyway, this is my update! I got back from Chicago the other night =]

**FrozenDragon- **Don't worry! The secret is discovered in this chapter. That's what it's going to be based around. You're in luck my friend.

**PurebloodPrincess97- **I made you cry? I'm sorry!! Will I give Mika-chan back? Maybe…you'll just have to wait and find out.

**Devil's Child 2090- **I'M SORRY!! I'M SORRY!! I'M SORRY!! I'm a very bad person for causing so much pain for poor Rima…here's my update.

**ShuUreI814- **Why would anyone take her? Because the writer is a meanie head, that's why.

**kAtiE-lUvs-mcr- **I'm pretty sure everyone is a little pissed with Shiki's mother at this point. All that grring made it much more impressive though.

**shikixxrima- **Where is Mikazuki indeed? Time for Nancy Drew! Or for the author to be a lot nicer….

**babyviolin- **congratulations on being number 70!! Yes, very sad chapter…I wonder when they'll start to get happy

**Chibi Kitt- **Awww now I feel kinda bad about ruining Rima's life

**CocoxLadybat- **nice…face?

**xxdarkvampireangelxx- **you don't have to wait long I promise :)

**RimaTouyaXxSenrixX- **Yeah, Shizuka is usually pretty awesome…but then again, everyone is pretty OOC in this fic. I would never kill Mikazuki…no, no. Poor Yuuki indeed…and everyone hates Shiki's mom. I'm surprised people haven't come after me with pitch forks for not only being so late, but for making everyone's lives so miserable in this story…ah I'm such a bad person.

**RosesAndStripes- **It was very mean of me to end there I suppose. I'm sorry. I'll try to make up for it =)

**Yuki: **I'm updating! Jeez, I sure hope this story is getting good…thanks for reassuring me.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vampire Knight. Not even the idea. Or anything.

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**SARA'S POV:**

I sat with Zero, Ichiru and Takuma in the kitchen of Takuma's house—now my house—in utter silence. Yuuki and Maria were both hospitalized, with Yuuki looking like a human pincushion with all those needles stuck inside of her. I winced. I have a phobia of needles. I looked at the flowers outside the kitchen window.

The heat was too much for them and they were drying out. Poor flowers.

The sudden silence was broken by the ringing of my phone I yanked it out and saw that it was Rima calling.

"What is it, Rima?" I asked quietly as the boys all stared.

"_It's not Rima," _an older woman said. _"It's her mother."_

My breath caught in my throat and my eyes widened.

"Is she okay?" I asked worriedly. There was a dry sob from the other line. I took that as a no.

"_No. Mikazuki is gone. Rima told me to call you. She needs help and I can't do anything for her," _the older woman said sadly and my heart clenched. The feeling of losing your baby is something I'd experienced once, only not quite like what Rima must be going through. After all, mine didn't even count as a baby when I lost it.

"Where is she?" I asked hurriedly I jumped up and motioned to the boys that I would answer their questioning looks later.

"_Rima? In her—"_

"I mean Mikazuki!" I snapped, immediately regretting that I had been so harsh but I was losing control. Takuma and Ichiru's eyes widened in alarm while Zero stared bewildered.

"Who the hell is—ouch!" he began but I was close enough to be able to kick his shin and shut him up.

"_Oh. Mika-chan's father's mother took her. I take it you know who—"_

"I'm on my way," I said and grabbed my coat just as I snapped my phone shut. Before I could all but run out the door, Takuma grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer till I hit his chest. I struggled to move so he wrapped his other arm around my waist until I stopped moving. Even then, he didn't remove it.

"Mikazuki was taken. Rima…she's in a sort of a shock. her mother called me for help," I explained bleakly. "I need to help her."

_For my own sake as much as her own. I need closure for my own loss...please._

"Hm. I see," Takuma said quietly and let me go. It was like he knew how I felt. Maybe he could see it in my eyes. I didn't know. Takuma handed me the keys to his car and smiled slightly. "Go work your magic."

I nodded and darted out the door.

As I drove, a million thoughts roamed through my head, most being along the lines of "that evil bitch I'm going to rip out her throat" and other violent threats to the woman who took Mikazuki that I probably wouldn't go through with.

I got to Rima's house after what seemed like hours and flung open the door, giving her poor mother a fright. The woman stared at me for a second before guiding me towards Rima's room. I opened the door and what I saw was the worst thing I'd ever seen. Rima was lying on her bed in the fetal position, her hair a mess, muttering to herself and sobbing. I couldn't hear what she was saying until she screamed.

"_I don't know!" _she cried and then broke down. Looking at her was like looking like an abused puppy. She looked like a broke porcelain doll who could never been fixed. I walked over to her bed and fought back my own tears as Rima's mother closed the door.

**KANAME'S POV:**

It was hard for me to decide whether I had done a good deed or made the worst mistake of my life that would continuously come back to haunt me by giving the letters to their rightful owners. At least until I got the slap in the face. My dearest aunt found the letters to be missing and slapped me because who else knew where the letters were?

"This is a betrayal!" she shrieked and I almost laughed. But that would ruin my image as the dark, thoughtful type and that wouldn't work at all.

"The betrayal is what you've been keeping from your son," I said quietly. She froze and I almost felt guilty because she looked about ready to fall to her knees. I wondered what had happened to the once beautiful actress who had been loved by so many.

"Rido…no. Senri...can't ever know," she half-sobbed. This crazy bitch was starting to get on my nerves but I kept all expression away from my face.

"Why not?" I demanded.

"Because I don't want him to hate himself," she explained. "Think of all the people he's hurt!"

That was the first thing I'd heard from her mouth that made any sense at all.

"If you don't tell him someone will," I warned her.

"Who?"

"Touya."

"She wouldn't!"

I eyed the crib where the baby was laying. "You took the one thing that was keeping her loyal to you," I pointed out.

"She needs to suffer," my deranged aunt replied and I shook my head in disgust.

"You're hopeless," I told her and left the room, silently praying that she would be much saner around her granddaughter than she was around anyone else or god forbid what would happen to that baby.

"Hey," someone said quietly and I turned to see Senri staring with blank eyes. I took a quick glance at them to make sure they were the same.

"I think it's time to learn what's wrong with you," I said softly, hoping against hope that what I was doing wasn't a mistake. His eyes widened and I grimaced. Yes, I was making a mistake.

"Tell me!" he said loudly and I motioned him to be quieter, pointing at his mother's room. He nodded, though his eyes darkened considerably. The betrayal of the woman who carried you in her womb for nine months hurts more than anything else.

"Have you had black outs? Something happens and other people around you are hurt and you don't remember anything at all?" I asked him, even thought I knew the answer was yes.

"Yes," he whispered.

_Kaname, you must be the biggest idiot out there! And I was so sure it was Kiryuu for a while…_

"You have somewhat of a split personality," I said quietly. "We aren't sure exactly what's wrong with you, but I believe it has something to do with your father." I watched, my cousin as he soaked in all the information that had been kept from him all his life. To my surprise—not that I showed it—he laughed darkly.

"So because my dad is a total asshole, I'm a mix of him and my own personality?"

"Actually, I had another thought," I said wondering how much I should tell him.

"What is it?"

"You have no personality of your own. You have this cross between your father and the Touya girl," I said. She had changed him. Before he met her he was more like his father than he knew. But then he met her and the darker side of him rarely appeared. The only problem was that if it did, it was worse than ever.

"Is this even possible?" he demanded.

"It seems so," I said. "Maybe you're just weak and easily influenced."

"And mother wouldn't tell me because she can't accept the fact that my dad is a sick twisted bastard," he noted. I nodded although I couldn't say I approved of his choice of words.

"If you feel like putting it like that," I said and then I noticed the horrorstruck look on his face. I didn't ask what was wrong. That just wasn't in my personality in general. I waited for him to speak.

"What did I do to Rima?" Senri asked in a low voice. Damn it all. Why that question? I really didn't want to be the one to answer that question.

"Try to remember," I told him. Then I realized how bad of an idea that was considering it just might trigger his Rido-ish side to appear. But before I could warn him against it, he closed his eyes and lost himself in his thoughts. He didn't seem to be going into an episode, but all the same, what I was telling him was probably going to ruin his life. Or fix it forever.

How long can someone live a lie? All the same…

_Kaname, you are an idiot for sure. _

**RIMA'S POV:**

_My baby. My baby. My baby. My life. My suffering. My joy. My hate. My love. My everything. Gone. My baby. My baby. My baby._

As I laid on my bed and cried alone, thoughts ran through my head. Her smiling face. What would happen when that awful bitch found out Mikazuki was too smart for a normal baby her age? What would she do? display her to the world like a freak? Maybe. Or maybe…or maybe….

"_I don't know!" _I screamed suddenly and hysterical sobs racked my body. "I just don't know," I repeated only this time is came out as a strangled whisper.

"Rima, you can't keep doing this to yourself," a familiar voice said.

"Sara," I said softly. A new weight pressed down on my bed and I felt delicate arms wrap around me, trying to hold me together.

"I can't say I know how you feel," she said quietly, "but I know what it's like to lose a part of you to a monster." I remembered her saying she had an abortion.

As if her words were magic, thoughts became normal and my mind began to think rationally again. At least as rational as I'd ever been.

"But I had her for over a year," I whimpered.

"And you weren't the monster who took her away," Sara said quietly. "I will never know what my baby might have looked like. I don't even know if it was a boy or a girl. I will never know."

"Her hair color had just finished changing," I said. "It was turned a dark reddish color, you know? She was starting to look more like her daddy than me. She was starting to look like Senri."

"Hm. Shiki did have some sort of feminine features didn't he," Sara said thoughtfully and I let out a sound that was a mix of a laugh and a sob.

"Maybe a couple," I said weakly.

"Why didn't you tell him?" Sara asked me. I closed my eyes and told the truth that I hadn't been able to accept myself.

"Because he would hate himself for something that wasn't his fault and that would hurt him even more," I said. "And I love him. I could never hurt him like that."

_And I love him. _The words that were my undoing rang around my head.

"But wasn't he hurting by not knowing?" Sara objected.

"You're making me feel worse," I told her grumpily.

"I'm showing you what you did wrong so when we fix this, it doesn't happen again," Sara said gently.

"This can't be fixed," I said flatly. "The bitch always wins."

I could tell Sara rolled her eyes at this.

"Tell him. See if he can help you," she said.

"I'm not telling Senri that he's a father. Besides, if his mother is the one who had Mikazuki, then he'll probably figure it out already," I said sorrowfully, feeling like crap at the reminder that my baby was no longer mine. I bit my lip.

"She was beyond the point of a genius you know," I said quietly. "I don't know why, but I've been thinking on it, and I'm starting to wonder if the whole thing of her being so smart is sort of like the way Senri is half himself half his father."

"How?" Sara asked.

"Mikazuki had to grow up faster than she should've," I said, trying to put my ridiculous hypothesis into words. "Maybe her brain moved faster, too?"

"Is that even possible?" Sara wondered aloud.

"Is what happened to Senri even possible?" I replied.

"It makes more sense than anything else," Sara admitted.

Then I thought about where Mikazuki was and started to cry again. Sara pulled me up and help me carefully. As she held me, she cried with me and I knew she wasn't crying for me; she was crying for the chance at motherhood that she'd lost before it even happened.

**SHIKI'S POV:**

It was awful. Remembering everything. I wasn't even sure how I did it. I tried focusing on the vase that I'd supposedly run into and remembered what happened. Well, sort of. Everything was in quick flashes that I had to put together. It was like a movie where everything was frame by frame and the frames lasted just long enough to see what was going on. Nothing was crystal clear but it was better than nothing.

I'd found Rima. I'd picked up something sharp. I'd cut her. She hit me over the head with the vase. Guilt hit me but then I realize I had been right!

"I_ knew_ she hit me with that vase!" I said aloud. By the look on Kaname's face, he obviously thought I was only a little idiotic.

"What did you remember?" he asked me.

"Uh, Rima hitting me over the vase when I attacked—oh!" I sunk to my knees when a memory hit me like a fist to the stomach. It was just like the vase incident: my brain was hazy and I was completely out of control. It was like something or someone else was there, only it _was _me. The whole split personality thing was starting to make sense to me.

It was dark. Rima was there. She was wearing a low cut shirt. I held her against the wall. I kissed her. She screamed. She bled. I didn't—

"Fucking son of a bitch!" I shouted. A few more colorful streams of words escaped me before I regained any sort of self-control.

_Did I seriously get my best friend knocked up?_

_Yes, yes I did. _

"Congratulations baby daddy," Kaname said with the sarcasm I rarely saw in him. But hell, there's a first time for everything.

"I hate myself," I said decisively. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go jump off a cliff."

"Damn it you idiot," Kaname growled and he threw me against the wall. My head exploded in pain and I didn't care. I deserved it.

"But if you feel like beating me to death, I'm fine with that," I said darkly. Kaname approached me looking furious. He picked me up by my shirt and stared at me.

"Your mother has your baby," he said.

"_What?" _

"She took her away from Touya. That was what she was holding against her and because you insisted on being around Touya so much, your mother decided she should take the baby away. The girl is heart broken and your mother is too powerful for her to win," he said quickly. "Only you can help her at this point."

I felt like fainting. I felt like even more of an asshole now.

"What can I do?" I asked weakly. Kaname scowled.

"Idiot. Mikazuki is your daughter, too! You can get her back, along with your grandfather's house and everything else that belongs to you," he said impatiently and let me go.

"You know, it's not very much like you to be so violent yet helpful. You usually favor my mother," I noted pleasantly.

"Well it's quite like you to be a complete coward," Kaname said darkly. Not only did that sting a little bit—as true as it was—it was also a very Kaname-ish comment to make.

He was always so dark and mysterious...damn. I wondered if that was really what went through his head or if he just kept up the image. Then I felt like an asshole for being distracted.

"That's more like you," I said rolling my eyes. I pushed myself off the wall and made my way to the book shelf. I tried pulling on a book that was a bit too high for me and successfully knocked over about twenty books. I jumped back in time and heard Kaname mutter something that sounded a lot like "idiot."

As I started to pick up the books, a piece of paper fell out from a copy of a cook book. It was my grandfather's will leaving me with everything. Me. Not my mother. Me.

_That. Lying. Bitch!_

_Alright, I'm so going to hell for calling my mother a bitch..._

"Maybe I'm not such an idiot after all," I said triumphantly after showing Kaname the will that I'd found.

"Considering you had to make this much of a mess, I think you still are," he objected. I frowned.

"Senri! What a mess you've made!" mother said loudly as she appeared at the stairs. I froze. And as angry at my mother as I was, I barely saw her because in her arms was a little girl, struggling to get away...with Rima's cerulean eyes and a head of hair just like mine.

"Mother," I said quietly.

"Yes, dear."

"You buried a lie, mother. And I found it. Actually, I found them both," I said waving the will in the air and pointing at the little girl.

"Daddy?"

_Whoa! The baby can talk! Looks like my daughter is a weirdo just like me_, I thought with dry amusement. _I guess it's genetic._

"So it seems," I said wryly.

My mother then did the worst thing any person could ever do: she moved to drop the baby.

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Before you guys call me a baby killer, I'm not that bad!! I promise! I just needed a cliffy and this seemed like a really good place to put one. But nothing too bad is gonna happen…and I really wanna finish the next chapter because of that cliffy so maybe this is actually better for you guys! So…gimme 18 reviews or more? Please!!!!!! Mika-chan will love you guys for it ;)


	14. Who I Am Hates Who I've Been

**Author's note: **Thank you guys so much for helping me reach 100! And thanks so much for you wonderfully kind reviews! You all make me feel so happy! Here is chapter 14 =]

**Tomoyo-chan284- **I'm glad you liked that section because that was the one I spent the most time on. I feel appreciated! And first person fics annoy me sometimes but I felt like this one had to be written that way. Or something like that…

**georgisakura- **I'm very glad you hate Senri's mom. I did my very best to make her hate-able and I'm glad my hard work paid off

**temari obsesser- **everyone hates cliffys, including me. So why I put them in I'll never understand...I don't think this one will be though....

**RosesAndStripes- **I'm quite full of endings like that. Mean cliffys are my specialty you could say.

**yuki- **Yay! You're number 100!! Ah Shiki as a daddy…that's enough to get quite a few fan girl squeals

**hana-flower23- **Yup you all know everything! Did it make up for making Rima so miserable?

**JKL-JaylaKahoonaLagoona- **I'm glad you couldn't be mad at my late updates because I'm generally a slow updater. Kaname is quite the bastardly bastard genius I suppose. And I did rather love that piece of the chapter…I'm glad someone else liked it too X)

**earthlyXangel- **I'm so glad you remembered the note! Everyone loves Ichijou because how couldn't they? And if only that bitch would tumble out the window…what a thought ;)

**nekosama- **I'm very glad you think so. Thanks =)

**silentspirit426624- **Do you really like it that much! Aww, that makes me so happy! I'm just glad you found this story at all so it's all good if you found it late.

**ShuUreI814- **Do I really seem that evil to you? I hope not…oh well.

**ChasingCarsAllDayLong- **I do so love hearing that! Yay!

**kAtiE-lUvs-mcr- **Oh noz!! Not the spoon! I'm trembling. That was a threat enough to make me update fast. Hehe.

**akiharu-chan- **No one can ever have enough reviews my friend. Addicting? That's a new adjective…thank you!

**BlackNeonAngel- **Every story needs an evil scheming bitch to ruin everyone else's lives. And all those evil scheming bitches end up with bad endings.

**fool i am the weasel- **Well…this is what happens, hee hee. I always had this chapter. I also always had the next chapter. My mind works backwards.

**loveee~- **I wouldn't have the heart to kill a baby in my story.

**CocoxLadybat- **If you didn't hate Senri's mom right now, I would be very worried about whether or not you were a baby killer.

**shikixxrima- **I don't want to be haunted by anyone so I guess I can't kill Mika-chan. Maybe there are human babies like that…I wouldn't know.

**Chibi Kitt- **If I let you kill Shiki's mom all the other people who want to kill her would be rather upset with me. But you guys could all meet up and kill her…if I don't first.

**Rimacchi Kuran- **It took about 4 months and 13 chapters but, yeah, the truth is finally out there!!

**PurebloodPrincess97- **Yes, Mika-chan takes after her daddy quite a bit. Maybe she should do something…ha! That'd be amusing.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vampire Knight…but I own Mika-chan and that's enough for me

**SHIKI'S POV:**

My baby. Not just my baby, but _Rima's_ baby also. About to be dropped. The worst part was, I was too far away. No hope. No hope.

"No!" I shouted as my mother's arms began to open. There was a flash of brown and Kaname appeared behind my mother and snatched the baby girl from her arms. But not before I heard a shriek. I saw my mother holding her hand and almost laughed when I realized Mikazuki had chomped down.

"_No," _Kaname snarled looking dangerous. That was why I didn't laugh. He walked down the stairs and I realized that while my mother had been distracted by me, he must've crept up the stairs. Before he handed me the baby, he paused.

"Fix what's wrong," Kaname said quietly. "I'll take care of _her._"

I clutched what I'd almost lost as closely to me as I could and moved out the door as quickly as I could. Cerulean eyes stared at me and a small smile lit up the little girl's face. Her hair was my ridiculous shade of reddish-brown but as soft and smooth as Rima's.

"What's your name again?" I asked her and then realized that she was probably to small to understand what just happened.

"Mikazuki," she said clearly and I stared. No way. She was just barely old enough to _gurgle_! She couldn't talk!

_But she just did._

"Oh," I said weakly.

"Daddy?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"I want Mommy and Taku-oji," she whined. I blinked. Taku-oji…?

"Ichijou? You want that cute-obsessed pedophile freak?" I asked. She wrinkled her nose in an attempt at a scowl. I almost cried out at how much she looked like Rima.

"Don't be mean to Taku-oji!" Mikazuki squealed and I snorted.

"Alright then," I said rolling my eyes. She frowned and looked away from me.

"So much like Rima," I whispered.

"I want Mommy and Taku-oji," Mikazuki repeated.

"Just like Rima," I said almost laughing. I walked around aimlessly, holding Mikazuki in my arms and almost forgot what I had put in my pocket until I felt it move. The will.

"Daddy?" Mikazuki asked looking almost worried.

"I'm fucking rich," I muttered, thinking of how much money I had in addition to a whole mansion. Then I realized I still had Mikazuki. I could hear Rima yelling at me _"no swearing in front of the baby!"_ The words were so clear in my mind I could've sworn she was there. But she wasn't.

"Bored," Mikazuki said softly. I eyed her wearily. How do you entertain a baby? No, how do you entertain a _genius _baby?

"What do you want to do?" I asked her.

"Mommy and Ta—," Mikazuki said decisively but I stopped her.

"Alright you want Rima and the idi—uh, Ichijou," I grumbled. "Let's go find 'em."

And then I had been bossed around by a baby into searching around the town like an idiot before realizing I could just head to Ichijou's house. And I'd be calling Ichijou the idiot....

After about twenty minutes of walking, I noticed in the silence that the baby—_my baby—_had fallen asleep. So like the complete idiot I'd already figured out I was, I began talking to her.

"You know, I'm never actually going to forgive myself for ruining Rima's life," I told Mikazuki.

Silence_._

"I'm such an awful person…but maybe it actually isn't my fault," I mused. "I mean, if they had bothered to tell me before I—well, OK you're what, nine months old? Refrain from dirty talk…that's right."

More silence. Then I noticed she had her eyes open and was watching me carefully.

"Do you ever talk?" I asked, starting to get annoyed.

"Yes."

"But you're more of the listening type I guess."

"Yes." I let out a sigh at her response. She really didn't seem to like me that much.

"Then will you listen to me ramble?" I requested, feeling rather pessimistic.

"OK."

Yeah, this kid really didn't like me.

"So I found out half of me is a total jerk and the other half isn't. And apparently, I've done some pretty bad things…not that I could do much to control it. And I hate who I've been. I'm going to try and change and help myself but I think I kinda screwed myself over for life," I said chuckling without humor.

Mikazuki said nothing, just watched me with her intense eyes.

I tried to think of how I could put my emotions to simple words.

"Mikazuki?"

"Daddy?"

"I think I know how to say it."

"Say it," she said softly.

_So now she says something that involves more than one word, _I thought dryly, but when I spoke, my voice was quiet.

"Who I am hates who I've been."

That was exactly it.

**KANAME'S POV:**

"You betrayed me!" she cried and I stared incredulously.

"You tried to drop a nine month old baby!" I reminded her sharply.

"I hate you!" she screamed and lunged at me. I stepped back just in time and the woman fell to the ground. Ridiculously enough, she was sobbing hysterically. Or maybe it wasn't so ridiculous since the past had come back to haunt her.

"Do you want me to leave?" I asked quietly. She may be an evil scheming bitch, but I had to respect her for something. I wasn't sure what it was, but I knew if I thought on it hard enough I could figure something out. Her eyes widened. An idea seemed to strike her and suddenly, leaving her alone seemed like a big mistake.

"Go," was all she said. I hesitated. "GO!"

"If that's what you want," I said softly and made my way down the stairs. But a warning bell struck in my mind, telling me not to leave. I didn't listen. I left the house.

And as if things weren't bad enough, I took the first step to going as insane as my beloved aunt: I began talking to myself.

"Well that went well," I muttered. "Now, my aunt hates me, my split personality cousin is roaming around with a nine-moth-old baby and I'm talking to myself." I decided if I didn't stop I was going to end up more insane than my aunt. Well, maybe because she sort of took the cake when it came down to insanity….

Then something incredibly annoying occurred to me: I didn't have anywhere to go. Nobody actually knew this, but I'd been staying with my aunt for a few years and now…

"I DON'T WANT TO BE A HOBO!!" I shouted…uncharacteristically of course. A few people stared at me, but I ignored them. I let my feet guide me around and before I knew it, I was in front if the school. I shivered at a huge gust of wind and suddenly, something collided with my face. I yanked it off an saw it was a piece of paper. It was crumpled up and I was tempted to toss it, but raw curiosity made me open it and read what it said.

As I did, I felt a wave of pity wash over me.

_Shiki,_

_I'm sorry. Really I am. I know what I'm doing is hurting you, and I know I probably should have never come back. But I didn't have a choice._

_America sucks._

_If it makes you feel any better, hurting you hurts me ten times more so you aren't the only one in pain._

_How long has it been? How much have I missed? Not that it matters._

_Anyway, I don't think you'll like to know what happened, but you deserve to know since it might be_

"Rima," I muttered. "You really were going to tell him weren't you?"

But she never finished writing the letter. I wondered why, but now answer came to my ultra-uber-genius mind so I gave up. I sat down by the school gates and thought about why oh why things had turned out the way they did. And who was to blame? Lots of people and I was one of them. Guilt. Awful emotion as I was starting to learn.

"I can't do this!" I said to myself and sat there staring off into the absolute nothing, wondering if there was enough time in the life for redemption. I hated who I'd been.

_But can I really change?_

**RIMA'S POV:**

_So empty without you here, Mikazuki. Mikazuki. My Mikazuki. I'm so sorry I lost you. I'm hurting so badly…are you? I'm sorry I wasn't a good enough mother. You deserve better than me. But if I could just have you back, I promise I'll do better. I promise baby I promise. Will I ever see you again? I need you, I need you, I need you! This is unfair! I hate her! I hate what I've done, who I've spent this time with you being. Do you miss me? Are you happier without me? Is it selfish of me to want you back? Yes. Because I'm not a good enough person to have you._

**SARA'S POV:**

I cried for a while with Rima. But then I realized that losing control wasn't going to help. What Rima needed was time. Or so I hoped. I said good bye to her mother and made it home just before the tears fell again and I sank to the ground.

"If only I'd be stronger," I whispered to myself. A coldness I remembered from right after the abortion hit me with a vengeance and I felt myself sinking, sinking, sinking to the bottom of everything. The world was going dark and I was beginning to surrender when I pair of warm arms pulled me closer.

"It's alright, Sara. It's alright."

The cold slowly went away and so did the darkness. I pulled myself closer to Takuma and he let me cry for what I'd lost before I even had.

"I'm an awful person you know," I sniffled.

"No you aren't," he said softly.

"Rima had her baby. I didn't. I got rid of it," I sobbed and the arms squeezed me closer until it was like two puzzle pieces connecting with each other and I absolutely positively _knew _that I was right where I was supposed to be.

"But I don't imagine that's what you wanted," Takuma said quietly. He was being uncharacteristically serious for the moment and I was glad for that. I felt myself slowly relaxing.

"No."

"You aren't a bad person, Sara."

"How do you know?"

"I wouldn't love you like I do if you were a bad person."

"You love me?" I asked completely caught by surprise.

"That's what I just said," Takuma said lightly. I could feel the anticipation radiating off of him and it then occurred to me he was waiting for my reaction.

"I love you, too," I whispered just loud enough for him to hear me and I could tell that he smiled slightly at that moment.

"Now that we have that all cleared up, I think you need some hot chocolate with extra marshmallows," Takuma said gently and I let him help me up and walk me to the kitchen, not letting go of me the whole time.

Being loved was a completely new emotion to me and I wasn't sure if I was having the right reaction or not. All I knew was that I had this happy feeling inside of me that was growing every time I replayed his words in my head: _"I wouldn't love you like I do if you were a bad person."_

It was probably bad timing to be so happy when there was so much pain going on, but I couldn't help myself. Takuma sat me down in the chair carefully and bustled around in the kitchen making hot chocolate and soon the sweet scent of chocolate was under my nose and I realized I'd be spacing out.

"What should we do now?" Takuma asked quietly. "About Rima and Shiki I mean." I looked out the window I watched the sky turn to gray.

"We wait," I said. "It's going to rain."

"So?"

"Rain washes away all the bad things. Just wait and see," I told him.

"If you say so," Takuma said carefully and I watched as he dumped half a bag of marshmallows in my mug. I couldn't help but smile just a little bit.

_Please let Rima heal. _

OMG!! MAJOR QUESTION FOR YOU ALL: is Kaname going to end up a hobo? Who knows...I DO!! Anyway, there was my major Takuma/Sara moment. Yay! I just felt like I needed a little bit of happy. My own story was starting to depress me. I think I might do a spin-off when I'm done with this that's going to be funny stuff that happens when they're living together...would you people like that?

**Review!**


	15. The Permanent Rain

**Author's note: **A lot of you want Kaname to be a hobo…I could arrange that XP In fact I just might…who knows…. I don't really have much to say so I'm just gonna give you chapter 15 that will (hopefully) be happier than the previous ones have been—but don't count on it.

**Disclaimer: Vampire Knight isn't mine and it won't ever be mine…but hey, a girl can dream right?**

**hana-flower23- **Kaname the hobo…oh man your right!! Everyone should take a moment to pity Shiki because when Ichijou's company is favored over his…well that's just sad…even though _I _wrote it that way.

**akiharu-chan- **It would be _very _OOC…but that's why it would be so great!

**Rimacchi Kuran- **Rain is a very special thing. It brings happy moments :)

**kAtiE-lUvs-mcr- **A spork?? Oh my!! I'm screwed now! Must update fast! Kaname as a hobo would cause a lot of laughs for Zero I imagine…. Here is my update (in fear of the spork!!)

**earthlyXangel- **I was going to write s Taku/Sara anyway, but I just through that out there to see if anyone would read it…XD

**georgisakura- **Kaname would make a very good hobo I believe…. And I really want to do the spin off so I'll probably do it even if no one else wants me to…hee hee.

**PurebloodPrincess97- **Heck yeah man! You should totally draw Kaname as hobo!!

**ShuUreI814- **She'll forgive him…if she doesn't go completely bonkers first.

**RosesAndStripes- **There are definitely going to be some more daddy-daughter moments before I end this fic because I like them, too!

**Chibi Kitt- **I don't think anyone can picture Kaname as a hobo. That's why it'd be fun to try! I have this weird obsession with hobos and torturing Kaname though…as for what she is plotting…it's nothing pretty.

**JKL-JaylaKahoonaLagoona- **What if Kaname was a _special _kinda of hobo called…a Kaname hobo? Even bastardly bastard geniuses can be hobos you know.

**shikixxrima- **You didn't actually think I'd kill Mika-chan did you? Jeez I hope not…maybe she'll grow to love her daddy…maybe.

* * *

**KANAME'S POV:**

I wondered to myself how awful being a hobo would be. I mean the freedom to grow a scraggly beard! What sane person wouldn't want that? And being able to live in whatever size box I wanted! Even better! And the thought of eating scraps from trash bins had been a life long dream of mine!

Now that was an outright lie. But I had to be honest with myself: even if my aunt would take me back, would I want to go live with a person like her after all the things she'd done? No, not really.

"I think I'd make a sexy hobo," I mumbled and an old lady walking by paused. Then she smacked me with her purse. It hurt.

_What do old ladies keep in their purses? _I wondered while nursing the bump I could feel growing on my head, unwilling to speak my thoughts aloud, god forbid another wrinkled old prune came along and heard me. I sighed deeply and tried to get the mysterious, brooding facial expression back on in case anyone I knew saw me.

Alright, now that I'd figured out a majority of the great reasons to become a hobo…I needed some reasons to _not_ be a hobo. That's when I felt the first couple drops of rain. As the first couple of drops became buckets of pounding water, I came up with a decent reason to _not_ be a hobo: cardboard box houses are _not_ rainproof at all and being drenched was _not _something I enjoyed doing.

"I'd still make a sexy hobo," I accidentally said aloud.

"That you would," a deep voice said and I turned around to see a man dressed in a miniskirt and a bright pink tank top. I gaped for a moment and took off as fast as I could.

Yes, being a hobo was definitely going to be a pain in the ass but hey, I could deal with the rain and crossdressers if it got me away from Aunt Bonkers. Well…the crossdressers were going to be a little hard…but all I needed were a couple of self-defense training classes and I'd be safe. Or so I thought.

* * *

**SHIKI'S POV:**

As Mikazuki bossed me around into going to Ichijou's house, my arms started to hurt. I mean, _excuse me, _for not being used to carrying around a baby.

"Mikazuki? Can I sit down for a minute?" I asked and mentally slapped myself. I was asking a _baby _for permission to sit down.

"For a minute," she agreed.

We were by the park so I walked over to a nearby bench and sat down with Mikazuki on my lap.

"Daddy?" Mikazuki said softly.

"Hm?" I responded.

"Where were you?" she asked me and suddenly I felt a pang in my chest when I realized how much Rima must hate me.

"Because I'm not as good a person as I wish I could be," I explained.

"You didn't fight for me."

The words were more of an accusation than anything and I felt my heart breaking.

"How do you fight for something you didn't know existed?" I challenged her.

"You…didn't…know?" Mikazuki said sounding surprised.

"No. I didn't know till now," I said.

"Sorry."

"For what?"

"Hating you."

"Oh…it's alright if you hate me. Because you're my daughter and I have to love you," I told her with a weak smile.

"I don't hate you anymore," she said quietly and I instinctively pulled her closer as she began to cry. I couldn't help myself: I cried silently with her.

"I love you, Mikazuki," I said gently.

"I love you too, Daddy," she sniffled and I smiled.

"I'm glad. It would be pretty bad if you hated me," I told her with a little chuckle.

"Do you love Mommy?"

I froze. That was a question most painful to answer.

"I do," I confessed. "But I don't think Mommy loves me at all."

"She does," Mikazuki informed me.

"How do you know?" I snorted.

"She came back for _you_," Mikazuki said. "She told me so."

And that struck the chord for me. I needed to find Rima. I needed to fix things, just like Kaname told me to. Speaking of Kaname…I hoped he was alright dealing with my insane mother. Then the rain started and I almost swore aloud. Rain must be bad for a little baby. I was closer to Ichijou's house than anywhere so I got up and made my way to the last place I really wanted to be.

"C'mon Mikazuki," I said. "Let's get you to Taku-oji."

"I don't want you to leave," she said sadly.

"I'm not going anywhere too far," I promised just as Ichijou's house came into sight.

**TAKUMA'S POV:**

I was holding Sara on the couch when I heard a sharp knock on my door.

"Just a minute," I whispered in her ear and got up, immediately missing the warmth she gave. I opened to door to see and shivering Senri holding something bundled up in his jacket. It was the size of a baby.

A nine month old missing baby.

"No way!" I gasped and pulled him inside.

"Taku-oji!" a voice I never thought I'd hear again squealed. I took the bundle from Senri's arms and looked deep into those cerulean eyes.

"Hey, Mika-chan," I whispered and Senri snorted.

"You have a pet name for her?" he asked incredulously.

"Daddy!" the little girl squealed again. "Don't go!"

Senri shivered again and shook his head.

"I'm not leaving but I don't want to get you wet or anything," he said uncertainly.

"Get in the shower before you die of hypothermia," Sara ordered, coming from the living room. Without a question, Senri jumped and took off, but not before he gave a small smile at his daughter who smiled back.

"Looks like you like your daddy," I observed.

"Mommy loves him," she said. "So do I."

I grinned.

"We need to call Rima and tell her," I said urgently. Sara whipped out her cell phone and dialed a number faster than I thought possible. Hot chocolate and a confession of undying love can do wonders for a person.

I listened to her quick conversation before her face turned ashen. She closed the phone after a hasty "yes. Of course I'll tell them."

"What's wrong?" I asked worriedly.

"It's Rima," Sara said quietly. "She's missing."

Thunder rang out and I could tell I was as pale as Sara.

"That's not good," I muttered and Mikazuki started to cry.

* * *

**RIMA'S POV:**

I dropped the plate I was trying to put away and watched it shatter.

_Broken. Just like me. Unfixable. Just like me._

I got down on my knees to put it away as a form of distracting myself before I could think again. But it was too late and all the awful thoughts consumed me, driving me crazy as the rain began to fall outside, starting as little droplets, but not staying that way for long. I touched the tears that were streaming down my face.

_Permanent. The permanent tears. The permanent rain. This permanent pain. Does it ever end?_

* * *

I really seem to be having trouble ending things on a happy note...ah well. Now you all have Kaname's opinions on being a hobo, another daddy-daughter moment and a missing, insane Rima. **Review!**


	16. Open Your Eyes

**Author's note: **Yay! I got so many reviews over night I was so happy!! This story is probably going to come to a close at some point soon…not sure when…but sometime relatively soon. A little sad, but that means I get to write my Taku/Sara story! And the hobo-Kaname story….

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vampire Knight…at least not last time I checked. I'm going to go check now aaaaaaannd, nope. I still don't own it.

* * *

**StoryBookDreams- **I love an OOC Kaname! That's why he's always kinda…sorta…totally weird in all the fics I put him in XD

**CocoxLadybat- **I thought the story was a bit too depressing so I had to bit a little bit of happiness in it

**ShuUreI814- **Kaname _would_ make a sexy hobo…or at least as sexy as a hobo could get

**xxdarkvampireangelxx- **I'm hoping I can get it even more absolutely amazing by the end. And here's more for you to read.

**SapphireDemon- **I'm updating! Now you can find out what happens!

**LUNAR-W0LF- **I'm like Shakespeare: my stories are either really depressing or really funny. And yes, that was pretty awkward for Kaname…it makes me really glad he isn't real cuz if he was…he'd prolly be pretty pissed with me…

**loveee~- **Um….this is what happens next!

**silentspirit426624- **I'm the master of cliffhangers. And I love writing daddy-daughter! I try to make them adorable so it's good to know my work hasn't gone to waste!

**akiharu-chan- **Kaname as a hobo is supposed to be unimaginable which is was makes it funny!! Yay for Shiki-Mika-chan moments indeed. I wonder how many more I can sneak in…

**hellopanda23- **I bet you could do a fanfics like this…you just need the right combination of depression and funny. Which is kinda hard unless you have serious mood swing issues. LIKE ME!! XP anyway, Kaname is actually starting to grow on me in this fic…I think there'll be a lot of him in the Taku/Sara spin off…

**Rimacchi Kuran- **Where did Rima go? Wouldn't you like to know…dun, dun, dun!

**RosesAndStripes- **Writing about Kaname's opinions and thoughts are one of the most fun parts of making this fic. And yay for the Shiki-Mikazuki moments deserving a 'squee'! I'm so proud…

**earthlyXangel- **i justmight do a whole fic about his hobo adventures…I've been toying with the idea for a while and I think it'd be fun! So look for it…when I finally finish this one.

**shikixxrima- **Where is Rima? In anime land…somewhere.

**JKL-JaylaKahoonaLagoona- **Why do people feel the need to threaten me with things you eat with? Well it's till kind of scary…–shudders-

**PurebloodPrincess97- **Well thank you very much. And as for Rima losing her mind… she sorta already has. I'd be more worried about her losing her life.

**georgisakura- **Kaname is a fantastic hobo in my mind…and everyone loves some sweet daddy daughter moments, no?

**kAtiE-lUvs-mcr- **what should I be more afraid of: a plastic spoon, a regular spoon, or a spork?

* * *

**SHIKI'S POV:**

When Ichijou knocked on the door while I was in the shower, I was a little creeped out. But when he told me Rima was missing, I jumped out, shut off the water and ran out with just a towel on.

**(A/N: it's OK to squeal now Shiki fan girls…I did this for you) **

"She's _missing?" _I hissed furiously.

"That's what I just said," Ichijou said seriously. I scowled. _Just when things were getting bette_r, I thought irritably. Then I sighed.

"Where would she go?" I wondered aloud.

"Get some clothes on and we can go down to the kitchen and brainstorm," Ichijou ordered and marched me toward his room where he'd set out clothes for me.

It seemed like he knew I was going to jump out of the bathroom naked…that's only a little creepy. Thunder cracked outside and I jumped nearly dropping the towel. I swore quietly, not wanting the words to make their way to Mikazuki's delicate ears. Of course with her being a damn genius and all, she'd probably have memorized a whole dictionary by the time all the other little kids were learning how to spell 'the.' And a whole dictionary always involves some...words that shouldn't be used in civilized conversation.

As I pulled on the clothes Ichijou had leant me, I thought about how hard it was going to be for Mika-chan—oh good lord the name was _infectious_—to grow up with her mind years beyond all the kids her age. How hard would it be to make friends? Speaking of Mika-chan…I remembered that Rima was missing, yanked on a shirt and darted out of the room. In my haste I slipped and slid down the last three steps.

"Ouch," I groaned as I got up. I heard a little giggle and saw Mikazuki giggling from Sara's arms. Looking at Sara, I saw her smile was forced and realized Mika-chan probably had no clue her mother was missing.

"Daddy!" she squeaked and put out her arms as an indicator for me to hold her. I got up and pulled her away from Sara gently.

"Mika-chan," I said quietly. "Daddy has to go for a little while." Mika-chan frowned.

"No," she said stubbornly and crossed her little arms. When she pouted, I saw a little version of Rima and I smiled slightly.

"I'm gonna go get Mommy," I told her. "Then you and me and Mommy can all sit here with Taku-oji and Sara."

Mikazuki smiled then. Then a thought occurred to her.

"Why can't Mommy get here herself?" she asked looking puzzled.

Well...shit. This girl was too smart to lie to.

_So maybe I can tell a half-truth…_

"Mommy's scared of thunder storms," I reminded her. Mikazuki's eye widened.

"Oh!" she said and then she squirmed a little bit.

"You see why I need to go for a little while?" I asked carefully.

"Yes, Daddy," Mika-chan said looking a little sad. I poked her cheek lightly.

"Don't give me that pout," I said firmly. "You have Taku-oji and Sara." Mikazuki let out a little huff.

"Come home soon," she said sounding completely serious and I blinked. Then I smiled at the daughter of mine who I'd just met.

"I will, Mika-chan. I promise," I said and another clap of thunder roared outside.

"Be safe!" she added quickly.

"That too," I agreed.

_Now please let Rima be safe too._

But as the thunder rolled outside, I had to wonder how bad of a condition Rima was in to walk out in weather like this. I hadn't lied when I said she was scared of thunder storms. Ichijou clapped me on the back.

"Good luck friend," he said gravely.

"Smile you idiot," I growled. "Take care of Mika-chan."

And just like that, I left to go find the insane girl I loved unconditionally and bring her home. I left to go fix what I'd messed up.

* * *

**KANAME'S POV:**

The thunder made me jump. So, completely drenched, I walked into the nearest building I could find which just so happened to be a baby store. A pregnant woman stared at me and pressed her hands against her stomach as if her baby was in danger because of me. I rolled my eyes and walked away, nearly running into a man who looked about thirty.

"You seem a little young to be getting ready for a kid," he noted and I growled.

"You have no idea," I muttered, thinking about my idiotic cousin and praying his baby was in safe hands. The words came out wrong and the man gave me a weird look. That was when I realized he was probably under the impression I was about to be a father. I sighed. I listened to the drip, drip, drip, drip of the water that rolled off of me and hit the floor.

"So who's the mom?" a deep voice asked me and I turned to see the same cross dresser who had agreed that I'd be a sexy hobo.

"Look, you must have great taste, but why in God's name are you _stalking _me?" I demanded. "I don't swing that way," I added quickly. The cross dresser rolled his eyes.

"I was just trying to tell you that if you decide to go homeless, here's the address to a great place to visit," he said. He handed me a piece of paper with an address on it and walked away.

I stared at the paper and blinked.

"Thank you…?" I said uncertainly. I flipped it over and saw a number written on it with an added note that said:

_If you need a WARM place to stay for the NIGHT, call me. _

I gawked at the paper and shuddered along with a stream of profanities that had all the to-be parents glaring at me.

"What would you do if some creepy cross dresser gave you his number and his address with a provocative note?" I snapped. The same woman that hit me over the head with her purse of bricks reappeared and smacked me again.

"This is prejudice against hobos!" I shouted.

"You're a hobo?" a woman asked me. For a quick moment I wondered how someone could get so obese…then I realized she was pregnant. And I was in a maternity store.

"This is so messed up," I mumbled and then I stormed out of the store.

I groaned and rubbed my temples. I needed to go back to my aunt's house, just to check on her and take what I wanted. As I made my way, I swore I saw a flash of hot pink behind me. I wondered vaguely if someone who hated me—Kiryuu perhaps—was cursing me or something.

* * *

**ZERO'S POV:**

Staring down at Yuuki's slumbering face, I frowned. I remembered coming into hospitals when I still lived with my parents, Ichiru and Maria, and once I saw an older man in a coma with his wife beside him crying silently. It depressed me and I was thankful it never happened to me.

_Great load being thankful did for me now. _I sighed deeply and let out a little groan at what I was about to do: I started talking.

"So…Yuuki," I began lamely, "I'm not sure how this talking-to-a-comatose-person-so-they'll-wake-up thing works…but I'll give it a try."

My beautiful beginning was met with dead silence.

"Right, so, listen up…well, it's not like you have much of a choice…anyway, would you please wake up?"

Nothing at all. Not even a twitch like what happens in the movies.

"Just…open your eyes," I begged.

Again, no sign of her being able to hear me.

"Damn it Yuuki just give me a little twitch!" I growled. "Or wake up. Yeah, just open your eyes, OK?"

Apparently, it wasn't OK because Yuuki didn't open her eyes. No sight of those cinnamon eyes.

"I'll do anything," I promised the empty air. "I'll do anything if you open your eyes."

"Zero…"

But it wasn't Yuuki who said my name. It was Ichiru.

"Yeah, I know. I'm not doing anything productive," I grumbled and turned around to see him with his arm around Maria and looking at me sadly.

"I'm sor—"

"No!" I snapped. "I don't want pity damn it!"

"She'll wake up," Maria said quietly. I could barely hear her over the pounding rain. Looking at the small girl, I felt the darkness in me wish that it was her, unmoving, unspeaking, in this hospital bed with Ichiru sitting beside her. But as soon as the thought crossed my mind, I felt guilty and mentally smacked myself. So I concentrated my irritation on Kuran.

I wished he was sitting out in the rain like some sort of hobo and getting smacked by some old lady's purse. Oh and while that was all happening, he should be stalked by some creepy cross dresser!!

I snorted at the thought and Maria frowned.

"You don't believe me?" she asked sorrowfully and I looked at her apologetically.

"Ah, I wasn't laughing at _you," _I said quickly and noted that now was not the time to be wishing for bad events to happen to Kuran that probably wouldn't ever come anything close to happening. **(A/N don't be so sure Zero…) **

"I hope the rain doesn't flood or anything," Ichiru thought aloud—a very frequent thing—just as a boom of thunder crashed outside.

I closed my eyes a wished for two things. One was for Kuran to become a hobo, and the second was what I wished for every day: _Open your eyes Yuuki. Come back to me. Come back to everyone. _

* * *

**RIMA'S POV:**

_Wandering around isn't going to help at all…Mikazuki…why can't I find you? Well, I know where you are...but why can't I have you? What's wrong with me? Ah. I know. I've been living with my eyes closed. I need you to be here so I can open them! Please…but maybe, just maybe…if I can open my eyes on my own…I'll see you again. But this darkness and the rain…where am I? I feel mud. Oh. I know where I am. I see a bench. I'm sorry Mikazuki. Give me a minute to sit down and think. Then I'll get back up and get you. But the rain is making me so cold. Soaked to the bone. I hope you aren't in this weather. No. The bitch would keep you inside. You're safe there for now. I think. I'm sorry baby. Give me a minute to think. To open my eyes. _

_So damn cold…_

_I can feel the wooden bench under me and I can't help but relax, although the wood is as wet and cold as I am. Not that comfortable but whatever works. I'm cold so I shiver and pull my knees up to my chest. I hear Mika-chan's voice in my mind._

"_Mommy…open your eyes."_

* * *

**TAKUMA'S POV:**

I walked into the living room and smiled when I saw Sara curled up on the couch with Mika-chan cradled in her arms. Very precious and I couldn't help but think that someday, Sara would be a good mother. With a small sigh, I sat down beside her and listened to the heavy pounding of the rain, silently thanking the fact that the house was very well heated.

"Please let Shiki find Rima…let him find her well," I whispered, hoping that my words wouldn't wake Sara. I gently ran my fingers through her soft hair and my smile grew even larger. Her tiny frame shifted slightly and she pressed herself closer to me in her sleep.

_It's the precious moments like these that we should all live for. It's the pieces of time like this in which everything is perfect. It's here and now where nothing is wrong and no one hurts. So please let Shiki and Rima be OK in the end…._

Sara's eyelids fluttered open and she looked up at me through tired eyes.

"Hello there," I said cheerfully in a quiet voice so I didn't wake up Mika-chan.

"I had the craziest dream," she mumbled.

"What happened?"

"Kaname was a hobo, we were married, and so were Shiki and Rima," Sara said.

"Sounds like a happy future," I pointed out.

"But seriously, Kaname as a _hobo?_" Sara said chuckling softly.

"How do you know Kaname?" I asked her curiously.

"Mmm…his parents and mine worked together for a few years," she explained. "But when you get disowned you have a tendency to lose old contacts. It's interesting that he's Shiki's cousin...."

"I imagine so," I said delicately.

"I'm going back to sleep," Sara said gently. "Wake me up when Shiki comes back with Rima."

"You sound pretty sure," I noted and she nodded slightly.

"I'm freaking psychic," Sara mumbled before passing out again and I barely contained my laughter.

"You're really something, Sara Shirabuki," I whispered and kissed her gently.

_This moment is precious. This piece in time is perfect. Here and now no one everything is right and no one is hurting. Shiki and Rima will be OK. They have to be. _

* * *

**That wasn't too bad of a cliffy. I'm going to try and finish this by August 19****th****because that's when I start High School! Ew…I'm guess this is going to have eighteen chapters plus an epilogue…I guess that makes nineteen….Oh and please forgive my new obsession with Taku/Sara moments!**

**Oh whatever. Just review. Please?**


	17. Saying Sorry

**Author's note: **Ah OK you guys two more chapters after this and I'm done…that's sad! Well…that's it for my author's note....

**Disclaimer: **Two more times…. I don't own Vampire Knight.

* * *

**georgisakura- **A genius? Well, thank you. And if a hobo Kaname doesn't make you laugh…you got no sense of humor. Thank you for having reviewed every chapter w/o fail!!

**Chibi Kitt- **It's not that I _hate _Kaname…I just enjoy making him OOC and if that means tormenting him…ah well…at least you still love my story

**Devil's ****Dreamer- **how many more chapters? Not enough…

**LUNAR-W0LF- **I was worried people were gonna rip on me for too much Taku/Sara fluff…ah and lotsa Shima fluff coming up soon! Relatively soon anyway…

**StoryBookDreams- **I dunno if _everyone _wants Kaname to be a hobo…but I sure do (take note on the I-love-making-Kaname-OOC thing)

**PurebloodPrincess97- **Oh believe me, I pity me, too. You're welcome for the fan girl moment. Your review made me laugh. I was hoping at least one other person would enjoy the moment…because I sure did

**RosesAndStripes- **Yeah…I'm starting to feel bad for Kaname, too. Maybe I'll find some way to make his hobo life better…wait...oh...nah.

**BlackNeonAngel- **At least you reviewed this chapter =] And when you came back you had a lot to read…heh heh. Shiki's on his way…I know it. I sorta have to X)

**kAtiE-lUvs-mcr- **I figure it's safer for me to update before you can think of something to threaten me with…oh jeez. I need luck for high school? Man…I'm going down T-T

**Rimacchi Kuran- **But you know what? The ending chapters always have the worst cliffys…

**silentspirit426624- **After sixteen chapters of this fic being awesome, I'm getting a good feeling about it

**hellopanda23- **I'm very sorry you super glued your fingers together (I stapled my fingers together once…) and I'm glad this story made you better =)

* * *

**MARIA POV:**

I felt like it was my entire fault. I really did. How could I not? After all, if Ichiru hadn't come for me, then Zero wouldn't have ever come for him, Yuuki never would've come for Zero and then the little brown haired girl wouldn't have been lying in bed, silent as if dead. Or maybe…peaceful as if asleep? I swallowed and stared down at my feet. All that was left was saying sorry.

"I'm sorry," I said softly. I wondered if the twins could even hear me over the rain. Apparently, they did. I wasn't sure if that made me happy or not.

"What for?" Zero asked. Ichiru understood, but said nothing. Instead, he grabbed my hand, a silent comfort. A comfort I didn't deserve, but I was too selfish to take my hand back. Great. I was making myself feel worse by the second. Ichiru squeezed my hand lightly and I cleared my throat.

"I'm sorry for causing you both so much pain," I said quietly. "Especially you, Zero."

I cast my gaze the brown-haired girl laying in the bed and felt guilt stab me. I closed my eyes and wished for it all to just go away.

It didn't.

"You didn't do it on purpose," Zero said gently. He was usually rough on the edges and I took his softness as a sign of pain. I knew him well.

"But it's my fault all the same," I mumbled.

"Not directly," Ichiru put in.

"Ichiru you idiot!" Zero snorted. "That's what I just told her."

"Yeah, but in different words," Ichiru retorted. Watching the identical twins fight was so nostalgic I let out a little laugh. It was like Zero had never left us.

"You two won't ever change," I said with a small smile.

"Nope," they replied, still scowling at each other.

But maybe they already had.

People change. In fact, they're constantly changing and it all happens so fast sometimes it's hard to keep up with. But there are the people you know so well that you understand them even when they do change. Those people being Ichiru and Zero.

"It's OK, Maria," Ichiru said softly and I realized I was crying. I brushed away the tears and smiled.

"It'll get better," I said, if only to comfort myself. And then a sound, more beautiful than anything, filled the room. It wasn't angels, although from the look on Zero's face, it might as well have been.

"Zero…?"

"Yuuki?!"

* * *

**KANAME'S POV:**

I trudged my hobo way back to my aunt's house concentrating on more important matters so I wouldn't have to think about the fact that the creepy cross dresser was still stalking me.

_Kiryuu I swear, if this is you cursing me when I get hold of you I'm going to make sure you won't be having kids! It'll be doing society a favor considering how annoying you are…and being annoying is genetic...I think._

After a couple more mental threats along the same line as the first I let out a sigh.

When you mentally insult an idiot, you begin to feel like an idiot as well, was the lesson I learned.

Then I faced the major problem: what to say to the evil aunt when I saw her. I could say a lot of things, some nice, most not, but in the end I came down to two options:

a) "You're a crazy bitch I'm getting the hell away from here so I never have to see you again," or

b) "I'm sorry, but I need to leave."

The first option was what I really wanted to say, but I was raised to be a gentleman and not say things like that, no matter how insane the lady was. But all the same…to say I was sorry didn't seem quite right.

And I really had to wonder, was saying sorry an actual option for me?

I groaned in frustration and felt the need to rip out my hair. But I didn't because my hair is too sexy to be ripped out.** (A/N if you say so, Kaname...)**

Saying sorry was harder than people made it out to be.

_Deciding_ whether or not to say sorry in the first was a million times harder.

If only I'd known that when I got there it wouldn't have even mattered…I probably would've saved myself a major headache.

* * *

**RIMA'S POV:**

_I've gone insane. Without Mikazuki I can't even work right. This is so pathetic! What sort of mother can't go and get their child back? I bet Senri's mom would've done that and she's _already_ a crazy bitch. Senri…_

Memories of him—of us—filled my mind and I allowed myself to become lost in them.

_I remembered the day so many years ago, when we were at his grandfather's house and Senri gave his heart to me. I remembered how ridiculously happy the gesture had made me because he'd always been the only person I could ever love in that special way. I just hadn't known it at the time. _

_I remember when he came for me when I was lost in the first storm. He always came for me when my heart was a raging storm and I needed him to calm me down._

_I thought of all the times he'd hurt me and remembered how it wasn't he fault. I thought of how gentle he was with me the rest of the time. I thought of the way Senri had always been there for me. I loved how he knew when to give me my space and when to be there. _

_I thought about how well he knew me and how much I needed him. That was why, no matter how many times his personality would change in a split second and I'd end up hurt, I always stayed with Senri. That was why, no matter what the consequences…I love him._

The last three words began to calm me down and my flow of tears slowed down. My breathing stopped coming as heavy and the world started to make sense again. I lifted my hand up and wiped the remaining tears from my eyes. I knew what brought me back to my senses…sort of. All I needed was the warm feeling I always got when I looked a Mikazuki: raw love. Nothing less. With her gone, I thought I had nothing to love and broke. I felt weak. But then I remembered that there was still someone…I thought of how funny it was because it hadn't been so long ago when Senri and I had our first conversation in a year and a half. It was the end which I found ironic as I relived it in my mind.

"_Let me help you! Let me fix—"_

_"You can't fix me! Just leave me alone before we hurt each other again!"_

I almost laughed at my words. Because in the end, it really was him who fixed me…in a way. Because I wasn't whole again and I knew I wouldn't be whole until I got my baby back and told Senri how I felt.

My to-do list was growing.

But the point was, now I could concentrate on walking into Senri's house, slapping The Bitch in the face, grabbing my baby and walking away.

OK. So I knew probably wasn't going to work out like that but I decided to go for the "think-positive-and-positive-will-come" tactic. I got up with shaky legs and then fell back down.

I was so damn _cold_! Why…? Oh yeah. I left the house like a crazy idiot and sat in the rain for about an hour….

I thought about America and how when I'd been there it had been so frustratingly warm. I missed that warm. Then my random mind started thinking about my exile to America.

I remembered how hard it was to learn English and I learned it by listening to music and what my mother taught me.

Then I thought about a song I'd heard and how when I'd sung it Mikazuki came and found me. I knew that it wouldn't for Mikazuki, but I was cold and could barely walk. If I was lucky, someone would hear me over the rain which had lightened up considerably and find me. If I was unlucky no one would hear me. And if I was _really _unlucky, the person who heard me would be some kind of serial killer.

_Think happy thoughts, Rima! Then you can fly, you, can fly, you can—oh damn it all…the cold is really getting to me._

So I took the risk and began to sing the song I found most perfect for the moment.

* * *

**SHIKI'S POV:**

As it turns out, it's a lot harder to find someone in pounding rain than you'd think. It's also very cold.

"Rima, just wait till I find you," I said irritably. It was sort of nostalgic really. When we were young, Rima had darted out in a storm like the one I was searching for her in because she loved the lightening.

Of course, she had to get herself lost. I ran after her and when I found her, she was crying and shivering. I asked her what was wrong—after all, Rima loved lightening. Then the thunder boomed in the sky and Rima all but jumped into my arms. I didn't quite catch her so we both tumbled over but I had her all the same so we sat and I held her until the thunder stopped. Rima never went out into a storm again, but I knew she still loved lightening. All the same, whenever there was a storm, Rima made me come over to her house so I could hold her while the storm raged. Ever single time from when we were seven. A year before the heart exchange. Funny how many things happen in your childhood that doesn't seem as important until you look back on them too many years too late.

Then a thought hit me: what exactly was I going to say when I saw Rima?

It's not like I could go up and say "come on Rima I have your daughter and I'm taking you to Ichijou's house" because…well…I mean I could but that would be pretty insensitive of me.

So I decided to stick with the classic: "I'm sorry my mother is a crazy bitch and took our daughter. I'm also sorry that I have a split personality issue and got you knocked up. Do you forgive me?"

Right. Not like that. That would be, if anything, more insensitive to say the least. But saying sorry was my plan. A simple "I'm very sorry, it's OK if you hate me. I love you."

_Yeah…that sounds right._

Then I'd direct her to Ichijou's house and she'd get Mikazuki back. Happy ending. Of course, I took a guess that Rima would hate me and I'd never see her or Mikazuki again which would just plain out suck for me.

I sighed deeply and kept walking. I didn't know where I was going. But I didn't know where I was going when I looked for Rima in the last storm so I decided to test my luck. And pray, but praying never did do much for me. I shivered as my dripping hair dripped water down my neck. I gritted my teeth.

If it was anyone else except Rima…well, only Rima would run out into a storm. I was walking past the park when I remembered that Rima had hidden in the woods during the last storm. The park had lots of trees so I had to wonder if she'd unconsciously gone back…nostalgia is very powerful, I was slowly learning.

I made my way closer to the park. And that was when I heard the sound I'd been dying to hear: I heard her voice.

I heard Rima sing.

* * *

Blargensnoodlebillybopdoodler…I'm almost done. But you guys already knew that because I've only said it a couple million times already. If you couldn't tell, I've become very attached to this story…ah well. I'll do my best to update tomorrow and finish by the next day…but I might take my time XD

_**Review!**_


	18. Fix You

* * *

Author's note: OK…so here is the last chapter, unless you count the epilogue! My original plan was to wait a couple more days till I updated, but I wrote this write after I wrote chapter 17 and I couldn't wait that long…Sorry. I was listening to the song Fix You the whole time I was writing this chapter…it was funny. But the funny thing about this chapter is that it's the one I've always had in my head. It's the one that inspired the whole story to be honest. I've been waiting almost half a year to write this and here it is. I hope you guys all like it. =)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Vampire Knight or the song Fix You by Coldplay. Awesome song though...

* * *

**RosesAndStripes- **He probably should…he won't though. And only I know why! Of course, if you read on you will, too…heh heh.

**loveee~- **Everybody loves a happy family right?

**LUNAR-W0LF- **OK…is this snappy enough? This has quite a bit of Shima fluff in it :3

**ShuUreI814- **Well…I won't make Kaname bald. But I do have to make him a hobo

**PurebloodPrincess97- **I'm not going to do a sequel, but I already have plans for two spin offs…and when you finish the hobo Kaname drawing you gotta tell me for sure!!

**StoryBookDreams- **I love the ending…that I haven't even typed up yet. The epilogue is going to be even happier by the way.

**georgisakura- **Don't worry, Kaname is still a hobo X)

**JKL-JaylaKahoonaLagoona- **Ah, I'm very sorry I update so fast…but when I go slow I get threatened with eating utensils XD And Taku/Sara is very awesome. I love it. If you couldn't tell…and as for my last bit, I'm very glad you squealed. Yay!

**kAtiE-lUvs-mcr- **sorry, no sequels…but two spin offs is close enough. I think.

**shikixxrima- **Everyone loves a psychotic Rima…and I think that line was probably one of my favorites in the chapter =)

**SapphireDemon- **Well, the only way for you to find out what happens next is to scroll down and read…and then review X)

**silentspirit426624- **Cliffhangers and always the worst…but they get lots of review, I noticed. And all sexy hobos need to have a stalker. It's the downside of being sexy in general, but I bet if Kaname grew a scraggly beard, the cross dresser would leave him alone.

**akiharu-chan- **I'm updating soon!! Yay!

* * *

**SHIKI'S POV:**

_When you try your best but you don't succeed  
When you get what you want but not what you need  
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep  
Stuck in reverse._

I found myself tearing across the park, nearly colliding into god knows how many people following the voice I loved so damn much. The words were in a language I didn't understand, but I would know Rima's voice anywhere. I made her sing for me a couple times and she'd always pout when she was done. In my half crazed mind, I imagined me finding her and Rima saying, _"I can't believe you made me sing. The things I do for you Senri Shiki."_

Yeah.

That's what she'd say and then I poke her nose and she'd laugh. I loved Rima's laugh even more than I loved her singing. When I found her all I wanted was to hear her laugh, if only once.

_Laugh for me Rima. Just once…for me?_

I nearly crashed into an old woman and didn't even say I was sorry, something I never would've done in any other situation. But this was different.

I found her and I wasn't going to lose her ever again. Mikazuki needed her mother more than she'd ever need me. I had so many people who were relying on me for this…_no fucking up this time._

"I'm coming for you Rima," I whispered as I ran. I wasn't going fast enough and I listened to the words that I couldn't understand.

I was lucky that the rain had lightened up or I wouldn't be able to hear her. I was also lucky I wasn't too far away. Her voice was getting louder and louder as I got closer.

The words sounded sad and the thought of her sadness made me run faster. And faster and faster until I couldn't run any faster. And by that time, I'd made it near the middle of the park where I saw her on a bench, sitting and singing…and tears trickling down her face, but not showing in her voice. I stood hidden and waited for her to finish her song before I came for her.

The last thing I wanted was to scare Rima away right when I'd found her again.

I smiled when I saw her. Her hair was plastered to her face but she opened her eyes for a moment and I saw a mirror of Mikazuki's. So beautiful that I had to fight the temptation to run to her, grab her and never let her go.

But I waited and watched as patiently as I could letting the steady drops of rain hit my face and drench me more than I thought possible. She always was a sight to see…

_I waited so long, Rima. I think I can wait a little longer for you. _

* * *

**SARA'S POV:**

_And the tears come streaming down your face  
When you lose something you can't replace  
When you love someone but it goes to waste  
Could it be worse?_

We made a little bed out of blankets and pillows for Mika-chan on the couch and Takuma and I sat in the kitchen waiting for Shiki and Rima while watching the light rain fall. Then I felt it.

"Do you feel that, Takuma?" I asked him excitedly. Takuma looked at me slightly puzzled, his bright green eyes questioning. I smiled brilliantly. A warm glow was filling me up and I knew that things were healing.

"No," he said slowly.

"It's all better!" I cried happily and jumped up, wrapping my arms around him.

"What's all better?"

"_Them!"_

"Shiki and Rima?"

"Yes!" I exclaimed my eyes filling with tears of joy.

"How do you know?" Takuma asked me looking curious. I could tell he believed me but didn't understand.

"Can't you feel it?" Can't you hear it? Everything's going to be alright now!"

Joy filled the kitchen and I knew that Shiki had found Rima. I knew that things could only get better. I just _knew. _And then Takuma kissed me and that made things even better than they were already.

We continued to wait for them, watching the rain, but our silence wasn't out of fear anymore; the silence was full of happiness.

* * *

**KANAME'S POV:**

_Lights will guide you home  
And ignite your bones  
And I will try to fix you_

When I reached the house, the door was unlocked. I walked in to the sound of bathwater running. A bad feeling filled my body and I took off up to stairs. When I reached my aunt's bathroom, the first thing I saw was a note taped to the door. I pushed it open and a gruesome sight met my eyes.

My aunt was in the bathtub, her wrists cut. I closed my eyes and felt like throwing up. I didn't. I back out slowly, but before I left, I took one last look and saw the bathwater was partly red.

"I'm sorry," I whispered and closed the door. I leaned against it, holding the handle as if I was afraid she was going to come back to life and try to leave the room. After what seemed like an eternity, I moved away and ripped the note off the door.

_Kaname,_

_I know you'll come back before Senri. That's just who you are._

_I don't expect you to feel bad. Who would? _

_But this is the only way to fix what I've done. No one could forgive me anyway._

_I loved this world, but I don't belong here. Not like this._

_I love you and Senri and the little baby I held only for a while. _

She never signed it. I was numb. I couldn't be happy that she killed herself, no not a chance, but I didn't feel very bad either. These were the sanest words she'd over written…but why this way?

I could never undo what she'd done. I couldn't mourn her either. That would be a lie. But I could remember her and all she'd done, the good and the bad.

"Good bye."

The whisper was soft and I walked down the stairs slowly. I grabbed the phone and dialed, asking for an ambulance, even though I knew there was no point. I did it for the final closure. With a final look around the house, I left, this time for good.

* * *

**ZERO'S POV:**

_  
And high up above earth or down below  
When you're too in love to let it go  
But if you never try you'll never know  
Just what you're worth_

At the sound of Yuuki's voice, the three of us jumped up and stared. Cinnamon colored eyes opened slowly and she blinked looking confused.

"Get the nurse," I said my voice raspy. On cue, a nurse came running in, followed by some others. We were all swept out of the room, but I was happy. So happy.

"Let's go you guys," I said cheerfully and Maria and Ichiru exchanged concerned looks. Normal I would've shot them both death glares, but I was too busy thinking about how things were turning out for the better. I wasn't quite sure how it would work out in the end, but I was content to say the least.

When we exited the hospital, I saw the one thing that made my night better than I could ever imagined: Kuran sitting by the hospital gate, telling a man in a pink skirt that he didn't swing that way.

"Kuran?" I asked disbelievingly. Kuran scowled.

"Go ahead," he growled, "laugh at the hobo! All you people with homes are so damn _prejudiced!" _

I laughed like I never had in all my life. Maria and Ichiru both took one of my arms and all but carried me away from the once amazingly graceful man who was now a hobo being stalked by a cross dresser. My life was officially complete.

"Zero, if you don't stop laughing, someone is going to think you've lost your mind and send you away in white jacket," Ichiru warned me. I still laughed.

Who wouldn't?

_One of Kuran's fan girls…whatever_

It didn't matter_. _I felt the light rain hit my face and sighed deeply. Everything was OK. Everything had been fixed.

* * *

**TAKUMA'S POV:**

_Lights will guide you home  
And ignite your bones  
And I will try to fix you _

After I kissed Sara, the two of us sat down again and watched the rain fall. I knew Sara was right, and that all was well again. Because she was psychic and all. All we needed was for Shiki to bring Rima back so Mikazuki could have both her parents together.

"When do you think they'll come back?" I asked Sara quietly.

"When they've fixed what's wrong," she replied cryptically. I laughed as quietly as I could.

"Because that's a very definite answer," I joked.

"Yes," Sara said and smirked at me. "It is."

I looked outside the window and saw the flowers I planted didn't look as shriveled and thirsty as before. I saw it as a good omen.

"If you say so," I said with a shrug and pulled her closer to me.

"But for now, we can wait," Sara said.

"Sara? Taku-oji?" Mikazuki mumbled from the other room. Sara got up before I could and came back a second later with the little cerulean eyed baby in her arms. She smiled fondly at the child and for a moment, I saw her with an baby in her arms. Only the baby had hair like her's and eyes like mine. I blinked. That was a far jump into the future…. I shook my head to get the strange images out of my head and simply smiled at Sara and Mika-chan.

"Is Daddy back yet? Did he bring Mommy home?" she inquired.

"Not yet," Sara said softly. "But it won't be long."

"The storm is gone!" Mika-chan exclaimed happily.

"Yes it is," Sara agreed. I watched them interact with interest.

"No…I mean…it's all better," Mikazuki said, sounding very similar to the way Sara had before. Sara's eyes opened wider as did mine.

"You feel it too?" Sara asked hopefully. The baby nodded and Sara grinned at me.

"I guess that makes me the freak," I said with a sigh. Sara laughed.

"I wouldn't worry too much," she said and sat back down with Mika-chan.

_Happiness is the most beautiful thing in the world. But love is the most beautiful thing in the whole universe. _

_I'm just full of proverbs today day_, I noted. All the same, I smiled.

Things were better now, just like Mika-chan and Sara said.

* * *

**SHIKI'S POV:**

_Tears stream, down your face  
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes  
Tears stream down your face and I..._

Honest to god, I tried to wait. I tried to wait for her to finish the song, but the growing happiness on her face made me walk towards her carefully. She eyed me with a small smile and stopped singing. It wasn't quite the reaction I was expecting, but I was relieved to see she hadn't take off like a terrified animal.

"Why'd you stop singing?" I asked her.

"Because the words carried all the sadness away and I'm not as sad anymore," Rima said quietly. She sat on the bench, her cerulean eyes staring into mine. The shivered because her gaze was so deep it felt like she was seeing right through me.

"Well, it's a beautiful song," I told her. "You should finish it." Rima laughed a little bit and the sound made me happy. It's what I'd wanted to hear for so long…

"You don't speak English," she snorted and it was almost like nothing had ever changed between us. We were eight again and sitting together. Well, technically she was sitting and I was standing a few feet away from her.

"Ah, so that's what it was," I said playfully. "I thought you were speaking gibberish."

"Sure, sure," Rima said, her voice gentle. I smiled a small smile.

"I'm sorry, Rima," I said carefully. I loved the moment but I knew it couldn't last. Rima sighed and got up. She took a couple tentative steps toward me and stopped. A couple more. And stopped. I realized she was waiting to see if I would back away. All I did was wonder why she was coming near me after everything I'd done.

"Senri…if I didn't love you this much, do you really think I would've stayed near you all these years?" she asked me seriously and I felt my heart skip a beat.

Mikazuki's words replayed in my head.

"_She came back for you. She told me so."_

"You really love me?"

"Really. Do you love me too?"

In reply, I kissed her.

"You really should finish your song now," I breathed when we broke apart and she smiled.

"If you say so," Rima said.

* * *

**RIMA'S POV:**

_Tears stream, down your face  
When you lose something you cannot replace  
Tears stream down your face and I..._

_  
_While I sang, I thought how things were settled. Rain splattered on my face and my body felt like it was on fire, despite the freezing weather and my drenched clothes. In my mind, I saw what would happen:

Senri would bring me to where Mikazuki was and I took a guess and figured she was with Takuma and Sara. We would all be reunited and happy. Yuuki would wake up. Kaname would become…a hobo?

I smiled at the thought and almost laughed. But I didn't because that would mess up the song.

I had waited so long for this moment, the moment where everything would fall in place, where everything would be _right. _

"I told you I could fix you," Senri said softly and wrapped his arms around me, just when I finished the song:_  
_

_Lights will guide you home  
And ignite your bones  
And I will try to fix you._

"Yeah well, you're the smart one out of the two of us," I reminded him. I felt something in my pocket.

"You're grandfather's letter," I mumbled and pulled it out. Lucky for me, the letter was in my wallet and was dry enough for me to read it.

_Dearest Rima,_

_Life has many troubles and your life will be full of many. Trust in Senri to help you with them._

_He may be dense, but when he realizes what he needs, he always follows through._

_I'm sorry that I will not stay live long enough to see how the two of you spend your lives._

_But I can hope that I can still watch over you in the afterlife._

_May you have many beautiful children and be well in life._

_Love,_

_Grandfather_

_(Remember when you would always call me that? I do.)_

"I remember when I'd call him that," I whispered and Senri smiled.

"Let's get you to Mika-chan," he suggested and guided me away from the park towards Takuma's house. I was right.

"Mommy!" Mikazuki shrieked when Senri and I entered the house, soaking wet.

"Hey, Mika-chan," I said weakly. The cold was starting to get to me.

"Daddy!" Mikazuki cried and made a move to her father from Sara's arms, who immediately brought her over. "I knew you'd come back with Mommy!"

"Did I miss something?" I asked raising my eyebrows. Senri smiled sheepishly.

"Just a little bit," he said.

"You'll be able to catch up," Takuma said coming from the kitchen and wrapping his arm around Sara's waist.

"I miss all the good stuff!" I whined noting the arm. Sara blushed light, but made no attempt to move away. I grinned and gave her an obvious "thumbs up."

"Mommy…" Mikazuki said quietly.

"What is it, sweetie?" I asked her as I picked took her away.

"I missed you," she told me before snuggling her face into the crook of my neck and falling asleep.

* * *

**THRID PERSON POV:**

It wouldn't be for another day until Kaname would call and say that Senri's mother had died. He never bothered telling them that it was a suicide and they never found out. No one was truly sad about her death anyway. Senri only waited about an hour after to tell Rima that he'd found the will and would've had everything even if his mother hadn't passed away. He sold

They grew up and got married, as did Sara and Takuma. They let Kaname eat out of their trashcans.

Yuuki ended up alright after waking from her coma. In the end, Ichiru and Maria chose to stay in Japan and the chairman gladly let them stay. He's really awesome like that.

And even though you'd think that everyone's stories had ended…Mikazuki's had just begun.

* * *

Ah see! Now you guys gotta read the epilogue to find out what happens to Mikazuki! Yay! And when the epilogue is up…I mark this story as complete. I'm a sap so I just know I'm gonna cry while I write it…not because it's sad or anything…just because that means this story is finally over…But ignore my whining! Review!


	19. Epilogue: Sleep, Everyone

**Author's note: **Alright…here's the epilogue…then I'm done…wow. About six months of work. Jeez…thank you all so much for reviewing and keeping me going throughout this whole story :D

**Disclaimer: **For the last time! I DON'T OWN VAMPIRE KNIGHT!

* * *

**kAtiE-lUvs-mcr- **No sequel, but I think I'm going to put Mika-chan in the spin-offs a couple times…maybe. I dunno. But here's her little bit.

**akiharu-chan- **And I now present to you…THE EPILOGUE –sniffles-

**georgisakura- **I toyed with the idea of doing a story on Mika-chan but opted not to because I didn't want to. So this epilogue is it.

**LUNAR-W0LF- **As long as you love how it turned out, that's the point. And after this…the story is officially over…that's depressing.

**silentspirit426624- **That's true since when I finish this, I'm starting two others

**Rimacchi Kuran- **I learned that the faster I update, the less I'm threatened with eating utensils.

**earthlyXangel- **The song is fantastic. And as for Kaname…he will always be a hobo in my heart….and all fics that relate to this one

**BlackNeonAngel-** Originally, the whole last chapter was going to be in third person but I changed my mind…I'm glad you liked the end! That makes it worth ending…or something.

**shikixxrima- **Everybody loves a happy ending. And thank you for the compliments. I really hope you like the epilogue as much as the rest.

**Chibi Kitt- **But Kaname's not just a hobo. He's a _teh sexy _hobo.

**PurebloodPrincess97- **I met Maggie Stiefvater in Chicago at brunch with the publishering compnay Scholastic (food was gross) She's a funny person and wrote some really good books like _Shiver_ and she said "It's my goal as an author to make everyone cry when they read what I write so I can laugh at them." Yeah, she actually told me that. Anyway, I feel the same way so thank you for crying. HA MAGGIE! TAKE _THAT_! I CAN MAKE PEOPLE CRY WITH MY WORK TOO LIKE YOU MADE ME CRY WITH _SHIVER_! Ahem…sorry. That was pointless...ah whatever.

**hana-flower23- **Kaname _could_ live at the house…but I'm not gonna let him.

**RosesAndStripes**- I knew no one was going to miss her

**JKL-JaylaKahoonaLagoona- **You're like, the only person to notice that part! Congratulations!

* * *

**~TEN YEARS LATER~**

**MIKAZUKI'S POV:**

In my house, many would-be abnormal things are ridiculously normal. Like when a hobo with a scraggly beard comes through and starts picking out of the trashcans, we do nothing because that hobo is my second cousin on my father's side.

It's also completely normal to hear my mother shrieking something or the other to my father, her voice echoing all around our huge house that I've grown up in.

"SENRI I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" my mother screams and my multiple trophies, awards, ribbons and other markings of the genius nature rattle on my walls. I looked up and absently watch my ceiling shake in my mother's fury. Similar to Auntie Sara, when my mother gets angry, all hell breaks loose.

But the hardest part is that it's six in the evening.

"What did I do this time, Rima?" asks my father from the kitchen. I'm telling you, it's a daily thing.

"YOU GOT ME PREGNANT!"

The whole house is silent.

"I'm sorry?" Daddy says uncertainly and I snort.

I hear thudding down the stairs and leave my room to watch the show after stroking my calico kitten Kohana.

Kohana is a relatively new thing. I got her as a present for giving up first place to another kid in my class. I enjoy winning but the fun is taken out when it's your sixth year in a row winning first place for a model airplane. So I purposely made my unstable so when the judges touched it, the airplane fell to pieces.

I still won second. It probably had something to do with the engine I'd stuck in it to help it fly on its own…

Anyway, I look out the window the see Kaname chowing down on yesterday's breakfast. He waves and I wave back. I love my family.

"I'm going to call, Sara," Mom says, jumping up and down. She doesn't look too upset now and I feel excitement filling me. She pulls out her cellphone and as soon as she's gone, Dad picks up the house phone and I know he's calling Uncle Ichijou.

That makes things easier.

I watch him dial the number and once he begins blabbering, I pick up the other house phone.

"Jesus Ichijou!" Dad yelps. "What am I going to _do?"_

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Uncle Ichijou says weakly.

"Don't tell me—" Dad gasps but I finish.

"Auntie Sara is having a baby" I squeal hopefully. Dad sighs.

"Mika-chan, how many times do I have to tell you not to tap into the phone wire?" he asks me.

"Ah my Mika-chan is still as clever and like her favorite uncle as ever!" Uncle Ichijou cries.

"Actually Uncle Ichijou, I just picked up the other phone," I tell them smiling.

"Why? Do you call me that now?" Uncle Ichijou sobs. "What happened to Taku-oji?"

"Umm…" I say for lack of better words.

"Good lord Ichijou you're pathetic," Dad snorts.

"Well the point is, Sara is pregnant and I don't know what to do!" Uncle Ichijou says and me and Dad both know that if the ultra sensitive man on the other line isn't offender, he must really be panicking.

"Senri! Senri! Sara is having a kid too!" Mom squeals as she runs down the stairs…again.

"So I've heard," Dad replies and I grin happily. I wonder what it'll be like, having a little sibling. Tsubasa has five older brothers and one new baby sister and he always says that it's awful, but I have to wonder if he hates it as much as he says.

_"I need to tell Tsubasa!" _I yell loudly and blush when everyone stares at me.

"How is that little runt?" Uncle Ichijou grumbles. "He's still being nice and appropriate right?"

"Yes, Uncle Ichijou," I say with a sigh.

"Good," Uncle Ichijou says and I can tell his distain of Tsubasa from his voice. It's not like Tsubasa is _bad_ or anything. Uncle Ichijou just thinks he's taking a lot of my time away.

My neighbor and best friend, Tsubasa has been my everything for most of my life. The first two years I knew him, we hated each other for a reason neither one of us could figure out looking back on it now. But then, when we were four, something happened and we randomly became best friends. Not that I'd dream of complaining.

Dad rolls his eyes and Mom smiles.

"Go find that little Sakurai boy," she says and I dart out of the house before my father can make a single comment. I smile at the reaction Tsubasa would have at being call 'that little Sakurai boy.'

When I knock on the door to his house, his older brother Haru opens the door, followed by third oldest Ryuuji.

"Tsubasa, your little girlfriend it here," Haru shouts without even asking what I want. He turns to me.

"So, you're mom is pregnant?" he asks for clarification.

"Was she that loud?" I ask mildly. Ryuuji looks at me from behind Haru.

"I'm here!" Tsubasa announces and smiles at me. I love his smile, I really do. It lights up his golden eyes that he hides behind a mop of dark brown hair.

"Get out of here you two," Haru orders and we comply without question. Before the door slams shut, Tsubasa's dog Daisuke comes running out. He jumps on me and I fall over. This is why I like cats better. They don't tackle you and try to lick your face off.

"Ew," is all I say as I push off the offending animal.

"You're gonna hate having a sibling," Tsubasa tells me quickly.

"How do you know?" I demand.

"Haru, Natsume, Ryuuji, Hayate, Sora, Me, and now little Sakura," Tsubasa snorts. "That's how I know."

I shrug.

"Well, I'm going to be older," I point out.

"Haru hates it too," Tsubasa says.

"He probably only hates you," I tell him crossly.

"Why just me?" he asks.

"Your hair," I inform him. Tsubasa is the only one of his brothers and sister with their mother's dark brown hair, something I never grow tired of teasing him about.

Tsubasa growls and tackles me.

"Maybe," he says crossly. "But that's OK with me."

And then Tsubasa starts to tickle me. That's the one thing I can't stand. When he stops we're both out of breath and we sit down against Daisuke. The one advantage to having the ugly oaf around is that he makes a good pillow.

I remember that I was going to tell Tsubasa that I'm going to have a sibling but since he already knows, there's not much of a point. The two of us sit in silence and the March wind kicks in. I shiver and Tsubasa puts his jacket around me.

That freak never gets cold and only carries around a jacket because I'm always shivering. I look at the sky and see that it will be getting dark soon. We watch the sun set contentedly before Tsubasa starts twiddling with his thumbs.

I've known him long enough to know that this means he wants to tell me something but isn't sure whether or not to do so.

"Just say it," I advise him and he rolls his eyes.

"I hate it when you read my mind," Tsubasa grumbles. I laugh, but don't bother telling him it's just because he's easier to read than an open book.

"Tell me," I urge him. He's quiet for a moment.

"Hey, Mika-chan?"

"What is it, Tsu-kun?"

We rarely use those names with each other which is how I know this conversation is going to be important.

"What if I…what if...just _say, _I offered you my heart?" Tsubasa asks me so quietly it's almost a whisper.

I pull my knees up to my chest and snuggle deep into his jacket, I watched my childhood friend run his fingers through Daisuke's soft coat and I realize Tsubsa is anxiously waiting my reply. It's almost dark now, but my parents won't want me back for a while, especially with all the commotion.

I smile. I know it's physically impossible for Tsubasa to give me his heart, but metaphorically thought is sweet.

"I'd give you mine," I tell him and I hear him sigh.

We're sitting by the lake and out of the corner of my eye, I see my mother watching. Or at least I think I do. I can't really tell so I say nothing.

"Good," Tsubasa says looking relieved.

"Why?" I ask feeling curious. For once, my genius mind can't figure this out.

"Um…well, I think I might love you…like more than my best friend," Tsubasa admits sheepishly. He looks at me under his dark hair.

"Tsubasa?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I might love you, too. More than my best friend," I say happily. Tsubasa pulls me closer and we both grin. I feel a certain peace settle upon us, one I feel when we sit in a comfortable silence such as this one. I close my eyes.

All is well, and we can all sleep in peace.

_So sleep, everyone…_

_

* * *

_

There we go. Now what happens is up for you guys to come up with in your own minds. But hey, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree so who knows! _You Can't Fix Me _is now officially complete. Ah, but I do need you guys to tell me whether the Taku/Sara fic should be ten years later (the time period of the epilogue) or the time in between. Because if the story is ten years later, it'll probably be about Sara's time being pregnant. That would be fun to write…what do you guys think? Review and tell me!!


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